10
by Barn Owl Girl
Summary: Humans always have a way of surviving, no matter what. Even after the war, some humans remain, and with humans, there is the possibility of more stitchpunks. When a clan of other stitchpunks meet up with 7, 9 and the twins, new adventures begin.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello! This is my first 9 fanfiction, so I hope you enjoy. It's rated T for some violence and mild language. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own '9' or any of its associated content.**

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><p><em>Prologue<em>

"I'm home, my little stitchpunks," Mum's annoyingly calm voice crooned, taking off the gas mask that she wore to protect herself from the poisonous fumes. Here, it was safe to breathe.

"Mummy! You're home!" cried 11 as she ran up to her.

"Guess who had a successful raiding day," Mum smiled, gently shaking a can of beans.

"Whoa!" 11 exclaimed, running her hands over the can. 12 had been bending over his latest poem, for he believed that writing was necessary all the time. He ran up to the can and neatly sliced the label off with a small blade of 13's. He immediately spread it out on the ground, dipped his finger in ink and began to write again.

"Hey! Hands off my blade!" 13 cried, running over and snatching it off the ground where 12 had left it.

14 was still immersed in her work. Today, she was trying to hook up a floodlight that Mum had brought home one day. She'd attached it to the partially remaining roof of our home and was now fastening it in place.

By now, you must be wondering who Mum is. Well, Mum's the Scientist's daughter. After monitoring her father's experiments for so many years, she discovered how to escape the robots that the Fabrication Machine had created. Mum was now living here, in one of the ruined towns, with just us. She'd discovered how to make stitchpunks, and created us to be her companions. There was only five of us; 11, 12, 13, 14, and me. Each of us were very different, but very same at the same time. She mothered us, but never revealed her true name. She told us just to call her 'Mum'. We obliged and asked no questions.

Being the first stitchpunk Mum made, I was a bit glitchy. Something had just not been right about me since the day I first woke up. I can never make up my mind, and I feel like two different people jammed into one body. One is very violent, the other the exact opposite. The only problem is, I don't know how to control it.

14 leapt down off her perch and landed beside me. She put her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her. "How's it going?" she asked.

I shoved her away. "Leave me alone," I snapped.

"Mum won't be happy with you," 14 smirked. "You know that you're supposed to be cheerful, especially around the little ones..." She trailed off as she looked over her shoulder at 11 and 12.

I rolled my eyes and turned to face the other way. "I don't care."

14 sighed. I groaned. I hated her so much right then. Even though she was the most recent one of us created, she always seemed the oldest, and tried to take charge of everything.

I suddenly leapt up, instantly felling regret for being so rude. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap."

"Oh, it's ok," 14 smiled, brushing a stray hair back into her ponytail. "It was another mood swing, wasn't it." I nodded my head as a reply.

Of course, since Mum was a girl, she put some effort into us. I had a curtain of yellowy fabric that fell down to my shoulders, which she referred to as my hair, something that all humans had.

11, being made the smallest, was given what Mum called 'pigtails', and her's were curled. She had a much cheerier, lighthearted mood than me. She really looked up to me and the rest of our stitchpunk siblings. Her main fabric tone was about the same as mine; a pale, nearly white color, but her hair was darker; a mousy brown.

12 had a tuft of black hair, which was always falling into his eyes. His fabric tone was slightly darker than 11's and mine, but still quite light. His fingers had been made from pen nibs, similar to another stitchpunk created by the Scientist that Mum told us of, one called 6.

13 always wore a small, blue hat, which mum said that people wore in winter. Of course, she'd just made a small copy, but she put a lot of effort into it. It even had a small light blue pom-pom on top. Underneath, 13's hair was pure raven black, but it was seldom seen, except for a tuft that covered her left optic. Her fabric tone was a darker tannish color; only a few shades darker than 12.

14's hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Sometimes, before the war had killed everything, we'd find and stick small yellow flowers Mum called buttercups in her hair. Her bright orangey hair also formed a jagged line across her forehead, creating 'bangs'.

Mum sighed and rested her head in her hands, then ran them through her shoulder length brown hair. Streaks of grey were becoming visible now, even though she was only 32 human years old. I scrambled over her misplaced books and put a comforting hand on her arm. "What is it, Mum?" I asked.

"I'm beginning to feel the effects…" she whispered, staring off into space. "I always feel so empty inside… I don't know how my father did it." She looked up at me, her young face becoming weathered with age. She dropped her head again, then took a deep breath and sat up. From around her neck, she unhooked the Talisman. This was not the same one her father used; this one Mum had created for herself. It was green on the inside and had a silver ring around the outside. She let it drop onto the table, then picked up the new stitchpunk that she'd been working on. He was nearly complete—with his dark brown hair obscuring his eyes, making him look calm and cool. I smiled as Mum reached for her pen. She gingerly inscribed '15' on his back. She attached his hands to each side of a metal ring, leaving him suspended in mid-air. She placed a wire into his chest and placed the green Talisman onto it. As she positioned herself behind the soul-transferring mask, she groaned. "Oh, I can't do it!"

She jumped up and walked over to the other side of the room, clenching and un-clenching her fists. I ignored her and edged my way closer to the Talisman. Gently prying it out of it's holder, I flipped it over in my hands. I traced it's seams on the back, then gently dug my finger into one of the three wholes on the back, feeling around inside. All I got was a slight electric shock. I jerked back, then returned the Talisman to it's position on the holder.

Mum walked back to the mask and positioned herself behind it. She took a deep breath, then flipped the ignition switch. I stumbled back as red light, instead of the usual green, sprung from the mask. The second it reached the Talisman, it bounced back, sending the pieces of soul ricocheting all over the room.

Suddenly, an evil smirk crept its way across my face. I knew what was happening. When I'd been fussing around with the Talisman, I'd messed it up. Now, it wouldn't take her soul, but the mask forced more and more of her soul out. I saw one of her fingers creeping towards the off switch, and I swiftly grabbed one of 13's knives and clean cut her finger right off. Her hand balled up in agony, then the red light stopped seeping from the mask. She fell. Out of the chair, onto the floor. My four siblings stared at me, smiling crazily, holding the knife covered with our mother's blood.

"What the hell did you just do?" 13 demanded.

I smiled and raised the knife to my mouth, letting a drop of the blood drip in. "I killed her." I said, beaming crazily, then began to cackle.

All of their faces showed surprise. 11's face scrunched up as she tried not to cry. 14 grabbed her and held her in, close to her chest. 12's expression remained blank, as it usually was, but I could see a flicker of sadness on it.

13 glared at me. "Are you crazy?" she asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" I replied. Mum's blood had left a stain on the fabric around my mouth, enhancing my crazed appearance.

"You're a monster!" 13 cried.

I smiled and began to laugh again, but harder. Halfway through, I realized that now I was crying. I'd killed my mother! Just because that stupid other side to me took over. I'd cut off her finger, the one way she could've saved herself. It still lay there, lifeless, on the table in a pool of blood. The sight of it made me sick. I realized that the only way that I could go back to being sane was to get that evil part out of me. I grabbed the knife and thrust it into my own chest.

"Get out!" I yelled. "I want out! Go away! I don't want you!" I ignored the pain shooting at me, and dug the knife in, trying to find the fault inside me. As I hacked away at my chest, trying to separate the second part from me. I jammed the blade deep into my chest, making me feel more and more lightheaded. Eventually, I fell back, dead to the world.

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><p><strong>So, that's the prologue. Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you think I should continue.<br>**


	2. Alone

_**Chapter 1—Alone**_

I awoke; lying in the wreckage on the street. A of then, I had no recollection of the entire incident from before. As I slowly stood and shook my head to clear my thoughts, and the whole terrible scene flooded back to me. Just thinking of it made me feel sick again. I looked down at my chest. A patch of mellow blue fabric had been sewn on to where I'd attacked my chest. How ironic that the blue was calm and cool. But I was not.

Now, I felt no emotions. Nothing but emptiness inside. For a second, I wondered it I'd finally taken out what ever part of me caused my emotions. Suddenly, rage welled up inside me, and I began to dig at my chest, trying to tear open the patched up part. Of course I hadn't! And now, I'd just do it again, and probably end up killing someone else that I cared about. A rustle from behind me made me whirl around.

"Who's there?" I yelled. "I'll kill ya if ya don't come out!"

A light from behind a pile of old junk brought the gentle me back in. The anger instantly faded and was replaced by fear. I ran off and hid behind a rusted tin can. Before I could retain my bearings, a spear hurtled towards me, catching me in the leg and pinning me to the can.

Something now stood parallel to me. It looked almost like the skeleton of what my mum had told was once called a bird, but I realized that this creature had a very familiar stance. It launched itself forward and landed neatly next to me, then took off its mask. Underneath, she was another stitchpunk!

"Who're you?" I asked her.

"What?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Where am I?"

"What?" she repeated.

"What?"

"What?"

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><p>"And then I found this little one out on her own," the white stitchpunk said, pointing to me.<p>

"I'm not little!" I said indignantly. "I'm no littler that you!" Suddenly, I stopped myself. "Wait, is littler a word?"

The white stitchpunk leaned up to her friend. "She was hacking at her own chest," she whispered loudly.

I glared at her. "I can hear you," I snapped.

"I know, I said it _loud_," she snapped back.

Her friend gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, then walked over to me and extended his hand. "I'm 9."

"I'm 10," I smiled, forgetting about the white stitchpunk for a moment. Again, all the anger that I'd felt just moments before had faded. Something new inside me stirred. Not something violent, something completely different. "I've never seen a… a stitchpunk like you before," I stuttered, blushing. I didn't want to judge him by the way he looked, but it was true; the brown burlap material he had as his main fabric was something I was unfamiliar with. All my siblings had very pale fabric, even 13 compared to him. They were all more like the first stitchpunk, the white one, who I learned was called 7, from a mangled number on her back.

"So, you were trying to kill yourself," 9 said. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. You only get one soul." A distant expression was visible in his eyes for a mement, as if he were reflecting briefly on another subject. "I've already seen to many people die..."

"I want it out…" I whispered, looking nervously down at the patch on my chest, as if I was afraid the evil me would burst out any second. "Never again… I don't want to hurt… GET IT OUT!"

"Whoa, calm down," 9 said, holding up his hands in a defensive posture. "What is it?"

I took a deep breath, and told him the whole story, of how I'd lived with my siblings and Mum, then the problem with the Talisman, waking up in the street. He offered comforting remarks whenever possible. "And then, 7 brought me back here," I ended, and 9 patted me on the shoulder.

"It's going to be alright," 9 told me. "I'm sure your siblings won't blame you for killing your mum. From what I've heard, they seem very nice."

I felt a little bit more comforted, smiling up at 9. He made me feel safe and secure, and I knew I was in complete control of myself just sitting there next to him. I wasn't quite sure why. All these unknown feelings made me feel strangely warm inside.

7 broke my moment of peace. "Can you fight?" she cried from behind us. 9 and I both whirled around at the same time. 7 threw down a short blade to me. I tried to catch it, but only succeeded in fumbling it, then letting it drop to the floor. 7 smirked at me, while 9 chuckled a little.

In the second it took me to stoop down to pick up the blade, 7 had her bird-skull mask fastened on, and leapt down to me. "Give me all you've got," she smirked.

I groaned. I really hated it when people challenged me, or thought they were better than me, or encouraged me to be violent. Right then, 7 was doing all three. As I felt rage beginning to boil up inside of me, instead of pushing it back down as I usually did, I let it fill me entirely. I poised myself, anger flooding through me, and faced 7, clutching the blade in my hand.

Without warning, 7 launched herself towards me. I instinctively ducked, sending her flying over me. She neatly landed and spun around, her staff nearly hitting me. I ducked to avoid it. On her second spin around, I subconsciously calculated when exactly would be the best time to stop her flying blade, and my arm holding my short blade flew up and collided with her staff. The sudden stop of movement sent her spear flying the other direction. Using a few mismatch books as a bounce pad, I launched myself into the air, right arm outstretched to catch 7's weapon. The second the spear was in my reach, 7 flew out of nowhere and snatched it out from midair. Landing opposite from me, I could see that 7 was not going to give up without a fight. I knew that the blade I had was too small to do any real damage, so I did a quick 360-degree turn. I spotted a small rod, just slightly longer than I was tall, leaning up against a book. As 7 jabbed her spear at me again, I decide to use this to my advantage. I moved so I was standing directly in front of a book. The next violent jab of the spear lodged it deep into the book. As 7 tried to free her spear, I leapt at the chance and grabbed the rod on the other side of the area. I quickly jammed the blunt end of my blade into the soft wood. Grabbing a few stray pieces of wire to confirm that my blade was attached to the best of my ability, I used up the last of my valuable 8-second delay that I'd caused 7. She wrenched her spear from the book, and charged at me. Now, with my makeshift spear, I was able to counter her attacks. As she moved faster and faster, I felt my anger draining away. Fear replaced it, and before I knew if, I was pinned to the ground, 7's spear jabbed into the ground directly beside my head.

She flashed me a quick smile, pulled out her spear, then was flying off in the other direction.

9 gazed after her in awe as he helped me up. "I've never seen her like that. You did well, 10. You seemed to know exactly what to do; you calculated all her moves. Nice work!"

I, too, was a little awestruck. As I tried to remember the battle, it was all a blur. Like I'd been asleep, and just woken. I had barely any recollection of the battle, for I was sure that my evil side had taken over.

I sat down, exhausted, on a book. 9 shuffled his way over and sat down next to me. There were a few moments where an awkward silence spread out between 9 and me. A soft rustle of paper broke it. As I turned around, a blue-hooded head was sticking out from behind a pile of thick old books. Another head, exactly like the first one stuck out from an adjacent pile of books.

I smiled as the two blue stitchpunks crept closer to me. "They're twins!"

The two little ones turned to each other and blinked rapidly. Finally, one with a #3 inscribed on the left of his chest came forward, his sister following behind. They stopped just behind 9, hiding behind him.

I smiled and let out a little laugh. "It's ok. I won't bite!"

The twins looked at each other for a second, then darted forwards to me. One of them, I couldn't tell which, was studying my yellowy hair. Now that they were closer, I could tell that they were about the same size as 11, and I felt a pang of sadness for leaving her behind. I looked over at 9. "So, are you and 7, like, their parents?" I asked, motioning to 3 and 4 with my hand.

9 blushed. "Oh, it's nothing like that. I just—we're just friends."

"Oh, sorry…" I stuttered, looking down at my feet. "I just thought—"

"It's ok," 9 dismissed, interrupting me.

I smiled down at 3 and 4. One twin, I'm pretty sure it was 4, unzipped my front and began rooting around inside me. At first, I was a little taken aback, but I didn't really mind. Once 4 had brought her head back out of me, she ran over to her brother, and let out a long series of clicking noises while her optics flashed madly. I didn't understand it, but 3 clearly did, for they scuttled off together.

I sighed and sat down on a book, beside 9. "Are there more of you?" I asked. "Other than the twins and 7?"

He sighed deeply as he let his head droop. "There were. Not anymore."

I could tell he was pained to talk about the subject, so I quickly changed it. "We should probably go see what happened to 7," I said. I looked out one skylight in the library at the darkening atmosphere and let out a yawn.

"You're right," he said, getting up. "We should find 7. She's probably just back at camp… I hope."

I shrugged, not sure what to say. Nonetheless, I followed as he led me back to their main camp in the library.

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><p><strong>Ok, that's Chapter 1! Thanks again to TheBlackSwanPrincess for reviewing the prologue. I'll upload Chapter 2 soon. Don't forget to leave a comment!<strong>


	3. On the Move

**So sorry that it took me so long to update. I just kept putting it off, but I finally decided to do it. Just want to say that I didn't write 14's song, but I did write 12's poem. **

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2- On the Move<br>**_  
>"What do we do now?" 13 asked to no one in particular, toying with a small blade in her hand. They were still gathered at the Shelter where they'd live with Mum their wholes lives.<p>

"We have to go find 10," 11 told them. "It says so right here." She held up a piece of paper with _#1: find 10_ scrawled across it.

"That's just another paper from 12," 13 scoffed. "He's always writing random stuff like that."

12 himself was surrounded by sheets of paper, turning around in circles, taking in all the he'd written at once. "There's something here…" he quietly said. "Something I'm missing… I know I didn't just write that stuff down for the fun of it… there's a bigger picture here, too."

11 peeked over his shoulder. "I see a duck," she said, pointing out a shape similar to one her Mum had shown her once. The writing on one page had blurred with the next, forming an outline.

13 patted her on the head. "I think that's just a coincidence." 11's face fell, but she shrugged and continued to try and help 12 find the 'bigger picture'.

14 was sitting on the edge of the table, head in her hands. The loss of their mother left her in charge, and it was nearly more than she could bear. Before, she hadn't minded helping look after the younger ones, but she couldn't do it on her own. As she dangled her feet of the end of the table, a metallic clanking caught her attention. She stood up and began to walk towards 15's lifeless form, which was still suspended in midair. Sure enough, his left hand was twitching.

"Guys! Get over here!" she cried as she began to saw at the ropes holding him up. 11, 12 and 13 hopped over and watched as 15's other hand twitched as well. It balled into a fist, then out, then in, until an ear-piercing scream issued from his mouth. His optics flew open as he screamed. Panic over took him, and he only screamed louder. He writhed in his mid-air position, suddenly breaking the small strings suspending him. He fell onto the table with a thud. As he tried to push himself up, he caught sight of his hand and it let out another loud bunch of screams. Finally, the rest of the stitchpunks calmed him down enough to get him to stop screaming.

"So much… p-p-pain…" he stuttered. "That's all I r-remember. I c-c-can't think of a-a-anything else but the pain… oh, the pain…" He was panting again just from the memory. It seemed, when the soul transfer had backfired, a few stray pieces of soul had found their way into 15's body, giving him just enough soul to survive.

"It's not safe here," 12 suddenly cried, his optics turning glassy. "The Beast… the Beast knows. It wants it. Don't let it have it— you can't let it have it! Move on, we must! Get away, get away, and get away–away from here!" His hands began flying, scribbling down what appeared to be random lines on a blank sheet of paper. "Get out of here… the beast is coming! It will return; it _has_ returned! Protect it, protect…_protect-protect-protect-proteeeeeeeect_!" His words began to merge into a flood of nonsense. His hand scribbled faster than ever before, then the glazed look began to fade from his optics, and he fell over backwards, surrounded by his scribblings.

14 sighed and collapsed back down on the edge of the table. Not only did she have two completely unstable stitchpunks on her hands, but now she also had to go looking for her maniac sister, who was nuttier than a cashew.

13 was helping 15 stand while 11 was lying on the ground beside 12. "Shh!" she whispered, petting her brother's hair lovingly. "He's sleeping." Even when he was in a rest cycle, 12's hand was still moving. It was slower now, but moving still.

"We have to go," 14 stated, getting up. "15, do you think you can get very far on your own?"

When no one else answered, 15 looked down at himself. "You talking to me?" he asked

"Well, you are 15," 14 said, rolling her eyes.

"How'm I s'posed to know?" 15 asked. "I can't see my own back." He spun around, trying to see it. He looked up at 14. "See?"

She groaned. "You're 15, alright?" After a brief nod of his head, 14 continued, "Well, I think we should go now. We've got to find 10. She's not going to last long on her own." Everyone nodded a little, even 15, though he didn't know what was going on.

Because 12 was still resting, the four other stitchpunks strapped him to a small wagon that 14 had found when scavenging the ruins. It had once been a child's toy, and now, covered by a balled up sock, it doubled as a bed. With 14's help, 11 laid her brother on the sock wagon. They decided to take shifts pulling it, because it was no easy feat getting it over to piles of rubble.

That night, as the wind began to pick up speed and the temperature began to drop, the four stitchpunks set up camp in the street. They gotten a few blocks away from the Shelter before the sun had set, but they all knew that it wasn't safe to travel at night. 12 had woken up, so they decided to leave the wagon at their camp next morning. Now, 13, 14, and 15 sat in the corner around a small fire. 12 lay sprawled on his stomach, writing on what appeared to have once been a piece of blue ribbon. 11 was sitting cross-legged on the ground next to him, spreading out a small piece of paper.

"So, we're here," she told 12, who wasn't listening. She pointed at one symbol on the map. "And I'm guessing that 10 will be… over here," she pointed to another symbol.

13 looked over 11's shoulder at her map. "Uh… that's not a map," she pointed out. "It's just a label. And it's upside down. I think it's the one from that can of beans."

Turning it around, 11's face fell. "Oh… I guess you're right." Suddenly, she broke into a smile again. "Then, we're here, on bean A, and 10's here, on bean B, so we have to get from here to here…" Using one of 12's discarded pens, 11 drew a line from one bean on the label to another on the other side.

13 chuckled to herself before settling back down at the fire. 14 was gently leaning onto 15's shoulder, and he seemed calmer than before. 14 let her optics close for a second, feeling the warmth of 15's body next to her. Her fingers wove their way between his.

"I'll take the first watch," 13 stated, making 14 jump out of her trance. 13 grabbed her spear, which had been leaning against the wall of the rock that they were sheltered behind, then poked her head out around the edge. The coast seemed to be clear, so she stepped out and sat down. Picking up a stray pebble, she absentmindedly began to sharpen her blade. Her thoughts were still back at 14 and 15. She was sure that something was going on between them.

Back behind the rock, 12 proudly held up one of his poems to 14. "Look," he said, beaming. "I call it _the Beast_!"

14 looked at the ribbon and read it.

_With one eye glowing like the sun,  
>The Beast shall reawaken,<br>And when the terrible deed's been done,  
>We will not be mistaken.<em>

Unsure of what it meant, 14 just smiled. "Nice job, 12," she complimented, ruffling his hair. "That was very… er, creative."

"Here, let me help you," 12 said, climbing onto 14's lap, scrap of ribbon clutched in his hand. He placed it in 14's hair, just like a headband. It helped hold back a few stray pieces of hair that had been falling out of her ponytail. Examining herself in a shard of glass propped up against the wall, she smiled. "It's perfect." The cool blue of the ribbon complimented the fiery orange of 14's hair. The scratches of writing were almost impossible to read, just giving the lace a nice dark scratch pattern.

As 14 sat back down, 12 took his place on the floor again. Now, 11 set down her bean map and crawled onto 14's lap.

With a yawn, she looked up at her motherly stitchpunk. Even though it'd only been earlier that morning that Mum had still been alive, 11 was already relying on her sister for guidance. "Will you sing me that song that Mum used to sing to us when we were sad?" she asked, blinking her huge optics a few times.

Brushing a few stray pieces of hair away from 11's face, 14 smiled. "Of course."

She cleared her throat and began to quietly sing;

"_Little one, when you play  
>Don't you mind what they say<br>Let those eyes sparkle and shine  
>Never a tear, baby of mine.<em>

_If they knew sweet little you_  
><em>They'd end up loving you too<em>  
><em>All those same people who scold you<em>  
><em>What they'd give just for<em>  
><em>The chance to hold you.<em>

_From your head to your toes_  
><em>You're not much, goodness knows<em>  
><em>But you're so precious to me<em>  
><em>Cute as can be, baby of mine<em>."

By the time she was finished the song, 11 was curled up, fast asleep, still in her lap.

"Where'd you learn that?" 15 wondered.

"It was Mum's favorite song. She used to sing it to us all the time," 14 wiped a small tear from her eye with one hand and stroked 11's soft brown hair with the other. "They still need her."

"You're a mother to them now," 15 told her.

"But what if I die?" 14 exclaimed. Realizing that she nearly yelled, she quieted her voice. "With all those roaming Beasts out there… it's not safe."

"You can protect them," 15 said. "I've seen you do it. You've always wanted what's best for them, since the first moment I woke up." His right arm worked its way around 14's shoulders.

"I just… don't know what'll happen when I'm not there," 14 fretted, looking down at her feet. "I won't always be on watch… someday, I'll just be acting careless… then someone will get hurt…"

15 lifted her head up by the chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I'm scared, 15…" she whispered. "I'm scared for them. I don't want to see any of them hurt, or in danger or—"

She was cut off by 15, pushing his mouth onto her's in a deep and passionate kiss. At first, 14's eyes were wide with shock, then they slowly slid shut. She barely felt her arms lift up and link around his neck. Tuned out to the world, neither stitchpunk could hear the sounds of 13's panicked cries, or feel the vibrations of the ground. When 13 rushed around the corner, 14 and 15 finally broke apart.

Her eyes wide with terror, 13 cried, "The Beast! It's alive!"


	4. The Return of the Beast

**A/N: Hey! I had some free time today, so I decided to update my story. I'm sorry, but this chapter's pretty short. Hopefully the next one will be longer! I'm writing some other fanfics as well, and I might start publishing them soon.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. Do I have to repeat it?  
><strong>

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 4 — The Return of the Beast<strong>_

"The beast! It's alive!" 13 cried. 14 and 15 leapt up, followed by 11 and 12. From outside, a deafening roar thundered from behind their sheltered rock. Aiming her spear, 13 took a defensive position in front of 11 and 12. 14 picked up her short sword and tossed 15 a knife. In about three seconds, he's transformed from a confident lover to the same shaking doll that he'd been just after he'd woken.

14 stood at the front, bearing her sword in front of her, leaving it pointing at the edge of the rock. The Beast was not yet visible, but they knew it was out there. Suddenly, a claw appeared. Not a normal claw, a metal claw. Dragging it's body forwards, the Cat Beast appeared from behind the corner. It let out a hiss, then bent it's head up, revealing a Talisman tucked securely in place under it's skull.

As 13 looked closer, she realized that it was not their Talisman—that one was tucked safely away in 14's chest—but this was a different one. It was a coppery red color, with three different corresponding symbols. As the symbols began to glow green, 13 cried, "Duck!"

She, 14, 15 and 12 immediately fell to the ground. 11, however, stayed up, craning her neck. "Where?"

A bolt of green lightning struck out towards 11. Realization of what was happening hit 14 faster than the bolt hit 11. She leapt up, shoving the small rag doll down, and let the bolt hit her square in the chest. For her, there were a few moments of agony, then nothing. 14's lifeless form collapsed face-first into the ground.

"NO!" 11 cried, dragging her body to 14's lifeless one.

The Cat Beast, which had been struggling to stand before, now stood, growling down at them. It took a swipe at them, sending the four living stitchpunks and 14's body flying towards the wall. Now, 14's face had been revealed, showing her mouth, wide with terror, and her eyes, blank and lifeless.

"Why'd you kill her?" 15 demanded, standing up and throwing his knife at the Cat Beast. It struck it in its one red eye, causing it to reel back from pain.

"15, get down!" 13 called. "It's gonna kill you!"

"If she's gone, then I want to be, too!" he screamed, clearly more upset than anyone about 14's death. He pushed his way to the front of all the others and yelled, "Go ahead! Kill me! You've already killed everything I lived for!"

The Beast looked him up and down, then leapt forward. It grabbed 15 in one claw, 14's body in the other. It raised its head and let out a bellowing roar which echoed around the sparse landscape. Then, it turned tail and ran off towards the horizon.

"No…" 12 whispered. "It's all come true… IT'S ALL COME TRUE! Oh, gosh, that means—then they'll…" He ran up and began shaking 13. "It's coming back, _it's coming back_! You can't go after it; you _can't_ go after it! There no chance— they're gone, _gone_ I tell you! But not forever, just for now. And the Cat Beast… There's no return! We're next… _we're next_…"

As 11 tried to sit up to comfort her brother, she collapsed and grabbed her right arm. It'd been nearly torn on top, and lower down, it was mangled as well. Sparks flew out of it as she tried to raise it to her head. "13… what's wrong with my arm?"

"It's hurt. It's really hurt…" 13 stared at the mangled remains of 11's arm. "If only Mum were here… she'd know how to heal us."

11 looked down at her arm and grimaced. "Oh. It does seem pretty bad." She held it out to 13. "Can you try and fix it?"

"I'll try," 13 confirmed. "But not here. It's not safe here. There aren't even any tools for me to use; no any thread to sew it up. We'll have to find another shelter."

"But it's the middle of the night," 11 complained, looking up at the blue-black sky, sprinkled with stars just barely visible around the grimy clouds. "Can't we wait until morning?"

"It knows where we are…" 12 cried. "We have to go! It knows…_ it knows_…"

"You two can ride in the wagon," 13 said. "I'll pull it."

"But 13… your leg!" 11 cried.

13 looked down and caught a sight of her left leg. It was mangled at the knee and the fabric was torn down the side. She hadn't even noticed it until 11 pointed it out. "I'll be fine," she dismissed, and tried to get up. The second she put even the smallest bit of weight on her leg, she collapsed in pain. The second time, she set her jaw and forced herself to shut off her pain sensors. Taking hold of the wagon's handle, she began to drag it forward, and set out towards the silhouette of a city in the distance.


	5. Repaired

**A/N: Hello again! I haven't gotten any reviews for a while, and I don't really want to beg, but just let me remind you: LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**Anyway, I hope that this chapter's a bit longer than the last one. I'm sorry, they're both quite short, but I'll try to work on length. There was a little bit of a mix-up with the chapters, becuase there was a prologue, so I'm just changing it to whatever chapter the site says it is.  
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**DISCLAIMER: I don't own 9 or any of it's associated content.  
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><p><em><strong>Chapter 5- Repaired<br>**_  
>A rustling sound jerked 9 into a conscious state. He sat up, blearily blinking his optics. He stretched and got out of his bed. The sun was just rising now, tinting the sky with the first pale pinks of dawn. Grabbing his light staff, he headed off towards where the rustling had come from. He spotted 3 and 4, quickly flipping through the pages of a book.<p>

"You guys are up early," he chuckled. "Where's 7?"

3 ran up to him and handed him a scrap of paper. He quickly read it.

_9,  
>I'm going out this morning. Don't worry, I won't be gone for long. I should be back around midday. Just—don't go looking for me. Promise me you'll stay here. I'll be back. Probably.<br>-7_

"So she's off on one of her secret missions again…" 9 said, more to himself rather than the twins. Ever since they'd defeated the Fabrication Machine, 7 had always been wandering off on her so-called 'secret missions'. He never found out where she went.

Suddenly, 4 ran down and tugged on his arm. 9 looked at the little stitchpunk. "What is it?"

4 lead 9 over to the book where her brother was pointing at a picture. It was a sketch one that showed the inside anatomy of a stitchpunk. It was pretty straightforward. "What?" 9 asked, still confused.

4 looked up at a nearly blank sheet of paper and projected an image of the inside of me next to the stitchpunk anatomy.

9 still didn't understand. "I don't get it." he stated.

3 ran up to his sister's projection and pointed to the inside of me. Beneath my ribs, he saw my voice box, then 3 jabbed his finger to something just below it. Fused into my chest, I had an extra piece. It was triangle shaped and directly beneath my voice box. 4's projection then changed to one of me fighting—my battle against 7. The crazed look in my eyes made 9 realize that there was definitely something different from when I was my normal self.

"So, you think that triangle thing is what makes her change?" 9 confirmed. 3 and 4 both nodded vigorously. "Should we try to take it out?" 9 asked.

After a quick look at each other, the twins both shrugged. "I've got to go ask her," 9 stated, then began to walk towards the next room where I'd had been staying. He turned to look at the twins. "I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?"

3 bobbed his head from side to side, in a so-so motion. 9 sighed and walked in.

Curled up in what used to be a glove, I still slept, my optics serenely shut. 9 walked over, paused, then gently shook my shoulder. "Hey," he whispered. "Hey, 10. Wake up."

Ignoring him, I curled into a tighter ball. "Not now," I muttered.

"But we've found what's wrong with you!" 9 exclaimed.

My optics popped open. I leapt off the glove and grabbed 9 by his chest, balling his fabric in my fist. "There's nothing wrong with me," I growled through a clenched jaw. How dare he say that something was _wrong with me! _

"Ok, ok," 9 agreed, his hands up in a defensive position. "Calm down. There's nothing wrong with you."

I immediately realized what I'd done. "Oh, I'm so sorry…" I fretted. "I didn't mean to…" I flattened out the fabric on his chest. "Hurt you, or anything." I glared down at myself. "It's just… I can't control it."

"I can take it out," 9 said surely, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "The twins found this extra part you have. If we take it out, they think you won't be so… er, hostile."

"Get it out," I said desperately. "Get it out now!"

9 lead me over to where the twins waited, still standing by the book. I lay down on the ground, using a piece of folded-up cardboard as a pillow. I unzipped my chest and let 9 begin to dig through it. Soon, he found the triangular piece.

"This might hurt a bit," 9 told me looking a little concerned. "I'm not a welder, so I'm just gonna try to rip it off. You might want to try shutting off your pain sensors."

I nodded, then focused in. I mentally shut off my pain sensors, sending me into a phase of darkness. My mind fogged, but even as 9 pried away at my chest, I felt no pain. All the anger vanished. I only wanted to get back to my family, to be with Mum, and to be with 9.

_Ah, 9._ The one fixing me now. The one who thought he liked 7. But of course, he didn't know how he felt. Just like every other man on the planet.

_7_. The annoying one. It was clear that 9 thought liked her, even though she wasn't particularly interested in him. I was interested… I could be perfect for him. Once the operation was done, I'd be free to do what ever I wanted, without the fear of going crazy. I'd go up to 9 and tell him that I loved him, then we'd raise a family of our own and 7 would be left in the dust. I smiled. The thought of 7 being left behind brought warmth to my heart.

Wait–what was I thinking! I could never be with 9... or could I?

"9," I murmured. "Will you hold my hand?"

Without his eyes leaving my open chest, he replied, "I am." He continued to work.

"Oh…" I said, gently squeezing his hand, which was clutched in mine. "D-do you like 7?"

"Uh… well, yeah, I guess," he absentmindedly said, still focusing on my operation.

"No, I mean do you looove her?"

Through my blurry optics I could still make out that 9 was blushing. "Well… yes, but I don't think shell ever like me. She's a loner; she'll never settle down with someone like me."

"I would… I would…" My optics began to slide shut as I slipped farther and father away from consciousness. "I love you, 9." Then, I fell into darkness.


	6. 9 Dances

**A/N: Hi! I'm back! Again, this chapter was short. And sort of pointless. Curse my brain for making me write such short, worthless chapters! Erm... anyway, the title of the chapter was based on an episode of Doctor Who called 'The Doctor Dances', and it just suited the chapter so well that I decided to use it. Also, 10 uses a line which Rose did, and I don't own that either! Sorry about all the Doctor Who, it's just my favorite show!**

**I'd like to thank TheBlackSwanPrincess. She's always had some positive comment read for each new chapter, and getting reviews are what really motivates me.  
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**DISCLAIMER: I no own!  
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><p><em><strong>Chapter 5- 9 Dances<strong>_

When I first reawoke, my head was pounding like crazy. At the time, I had no recollection of the operation. Suddenly, it came back to me. My hand instantly flew to my chest, feeling inside, at the empty spot where my second personality had once lived. I felt happy, and strangely calm; not nearly as on edge as usual. My mind was mostly blank.

In a flash, all the blurry images and things I'd said shot back to me. I blushed. Had I really admitted that I liked 9? I hoped that that part was just a hallucination. I mentally cursed myself for being so weak. I'd swore never to turn off my pain sensors again unless it was absolutely necessary.

I looked over at him, sitting in the window seat on a small pillow. I scooted my way over and sat down next to him.

"Hey," I quietly said.

"Hey," he replied, his eyes not leaving the horizon, which was beginning to become streaked with the pinks and purples of the sunset. Apparently, I'd been out of it all day.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"7's not back," he sighed. "But, I did manage to get that piece out of you. It's over there."

I walked over and clambered up onto the wooden table on which my triangular piece sat. I grabbed it, then hopped back down. Taking my place next to 9, I sat down next to him. After looking out at the sunset, I hurled the triangle out the window. It spun a few times, then vanished, the sun's light blocking it out. "Done and done."

He sighed and let his head droop. "I shouldn't have let her go out on her own. All those roaming Beasts are still out there, and one of them might've got her. After that Fabrication Machine killed all my friends… I just want to keep 7 safe. I already blame myself for all my other friends' deaths. I couldn't handle it if I lost 7 or the twins." He looked up at me. "Or you."

I blushed slightly. "It's ok," I told him. "I'm sure she'll be fine. You're just stressed. I know how you feel. Back home, when my family was still alive..." One look at him showed that even the memory of his companions was still very painful for him. Feeling slightly guilty, I continued, "Just try and relax. It'll make you feel better."

He chuckled, then sighed. "I'm not sure if I can."

"Come on," I said, pulling him up by the hand. "Let's dance."

He pulled his hand back and smiled. "I don't think so. I don't dance."

"Oh, come on," I grinned. "The world doesn't end because 9 dances."

As if on cue, the twins rushed up, pushing along a small music box. 3 propped it open, while 4 began to steadily crank it. Slowly, but surely, a cryptic tune began to flood through the library. I slowly rocked back and forth on my feet. It wasn't exactly a toe-tapping tune. After about the fifth repeat of the song, 3 rushed off. 4 quickly followed, letting the music slow then flood out. 9 and I followed the twins. We found them both pulling at a sheet covering some huge item. With our help, it was soon uncovered.

Underneath, there was a large black and white instrument. It was mainly black, with white keys and some black keys as well. 3 boosted his sister up, who then climbed onto the keys. When she pressed on one, a sound came out. It wasn't as metallic as the music box, but it had a much fuller sound. 4 pressed the key next to it, and it made a slightly higher note. A huge smile crawled onto her face as she pressed more keys. 3 hopped up and took his place farther down on the instrument, and when he pressed his keys, it made a much lower sound. As the twins explored, they found out that some notes complimented each other. In about fifteen minutes, they'd figured out a quick but jazzy melody and were playing it in a loop cycle. I bobbed my head and hopped around, having fun and letting the music immerse me. 9 noticed that his foot was also tapping, keeping the beat. I grabbed him and pulled him closer, forcing him to dance along with me. At first, he seemed to be what I could only describe as stiff. But, as 3 and 4's music got more daring, so did 9. We bopped around, bouncing to the beat, as the twins jazzed up the usually quiet library.

Time seemed to fly by as we danced around the open area of the books. I hadn't had so much fun in weeks! And for once, I didn't have to worry about going crazy and destroying everything!

During one very fast song, I'd sent my self spinning and began to lose control. Spiraling around the dance floor, I couldn't see, and before I knew it, I'd tripped on the edge of a stray book. As I began to plummet towards the ground, something hard—but not the ground—collided with me. Still slightly dizzy from my spin, I looked up at 9, smiling down at me. His big, round, intelligent optics looked down at me. I smiled as I pulled myself closer to him. Just as our lips were about to touch a crashing sound made us both look over.

7 now stood in the doorway, covered in ash and dirt. She stared for a moment at 9, still holding me, then exclaimed, "What the hell are you two doing?"


	7. Reflections & Old Feelings

**A/N: Hello! First of all, I just want to say a huge thank you to my reviewers! If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: LEAVE A REVIEW, OTHER PEOPLE! **

**Anyway, this chapter turned out really well. When I look back on it, I probably should have split it into two chapters, but all of the ones before have been quite short. So, this one is super long! Don't expect them all to be this long, it was just that I was really into a writing mood at the time. There's a flashback to a scene from the movie, so I hope I portrayed it well. I also put a few new poems in, and I just want to say that I used a rhyming dictionary this time. Before, I had to think up the rhymes, but now, it's much easier to write poetry.  
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**DISCLAIMER: Do I even have to say this anymore?  
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><p><em><strong>Chapter 7- Reflections and Old Feelings<strong>_

"We were just… uh, dancing," I said quietly, trying not to look at 7. I could tell she was steaming mad.

9 dropped me, letting me fall. I nearly hit the floor, but caught myself just in time. "Where were you?" he asked with a mixture of relief and anger.

"Didn't you get my note?" 7 asked.

"Yeah, but why were you gone for so long?" 9 continued. "You had me worried sick!"

My gut twisted. Earlier, he'd seemed so intent on being with me. It even seemed that he'd almost _liked _me! Now, when 7 was here, it seemed that they had a full blown relationship. I felt a little guilty for dancing with 9 now, but I also still smiled at the memory of his warm form holding mine just before I'd hit the floor.

"You don't seem very sick," 7 stated, eying me suspiciously.

9's brow began to furrow. "You still haven't told me why you were out in the Emptiness for so long."

"I found another group of stitchpunks," 7 plainly said.

"Were they like me?" I asked. "Was there a little one, with brown pigtails? And another, wearing a blue hat?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I left 'em out there. Not far away, just down near the statues. They're in some kind of wagon, I think they called it. And they're really hurt."

"What?" I exclaimed. "Can I go see them? I shouldn't have left… I just thought that 14 would take better care of them." I cocked my head. "Why'd you leave them out there?"

7 shrugged. "I couldn't have gotten them in here on my own. It was hard enough dragging them through the Emptiness, but now, their wagon's wheel is jammed with some piece of rubble."

I shoved my way past her, disgusted. What kind of small-minded idiot would leave those little ones out there on their own? Running out into the stone garden, I spotted the old rusty red wagon. I ran over to find 11, 12 and 13 huddled against the cool night wind.

"10?" 11 asked, not wanting to believe her eyes. "Is that really you?"

I smiled down and ruffled her hair. "Of course it's me, sweetie." I looked over at 13. "Where's 14?"

13 looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry, 10… the Beast was too fast…It wasn't like anything I'd ever seen…I just… I'm sorry."

My mind put two and two together. "Oh," I quietly said, catching on. "She's dead..."

"Oh, 10, it's ok," 11 comforted, placing her left hand on my shoulder. Only then did I catch sight of her mangled right arm.

"What happened?" I wondered aloud.

"The Beast got her…" 13 answered, then nervously taking her arm off her left leg, she revealed her wound. "And me."

Sighing, I helped 13 up and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, helping her balance. "Let's get inside," I told them, and 11 and 12 followed.

* * *

><p>When we entered the library, 11 raced up to 3 and 4 immediately. "Are you two twins?" she asked, but before they could answer, she'd ran off to a painting.<p>

12 was gazing around in awe. He'd never seen so many books before in his life. His hand instinctively flew to a small golden ring which he'd found out in the Emptiness. He now wore it over his head. 13 wasn't sure if it meant something to him, or if it was just for show. She didn't really mind him wearing it, though. For once, he seemed quite happy.

Suddenly, his right optic twitched shut. Spiraling words, letters and numbers tumbled through his head, jumbling all coherent thoughts that he'd had before. Kneeling down, he ripped out a piece of paper from the back of a book. When he'd spread it on the ground, he realized that this was one of the only pieces of paper that he'd actually been able to write on. Most times, it was a scrap of fabric or the back of a label, but here, he had paper! All his pens had been left at the camp site, so without thinking, he dipped his fingers directly into the pot of ink. Using his hands, a new poem began to form.

_If you are searching for success,_  
><em>First you must, of course, confess,<em>  
><em>To those of which you will caress,<em>  
><em>Or tumble into deep distress.<em>

He looked proudly down at the paper, the moved onto another one.

13 was now sitting down, testing the durability of a red string that 7 had supplied. She smiled at the white stitchpunk. "14 would always be the sewer, if Mum wasn't around. She fixed 10's chest, and did a pretty good job. Still, she's not the same as Mum."

I looked down at the sloppy stitching on my chest. 14 was _definitely_ not as good as Mum.

13 bent down, sizing up a small scrap of mild green fabric on her leg. Luckily, the Beast had mainly ripped her fabric. As she began to sew it on, it became clear that she had skills way above what she thought. Neatly connecting the fabric to her leg, she was done within two minutes. The green now ran from her mid-thy to her knee. Her scars were adding up now. She had a few stitches, neatly placed by Mum, on her left arm where she'd once ripped it on a loose nail. Also, on her chest, there was a thin patch of beige fabric that ran from her zipper over to her right shoulder. In a training exercise gone wrong, I'd went a little crazy and dug my spear into her chest. Now, I was glad that it was over.

Once 13 had sewn up her leg, she headed over to get a look at 11's arm. The Beast had managed to hit her metal skeleton, ruining her arm for the time being. The metal in her upper arm was mostly scratched, but her lower arm was snapped in half. 11 winced as she closed her hand into a fist.

13 examined her upper arm, then hopped over and ripped the edge off a piece of paper. Gently running it though a small puddle of paste, she wrapped it around 11's skeleton in her upper arm, winding it over the scratches to keep them from getting worse. She then sewed up her fabric with some of what remained of the red thread.

Next, she moved onto the lower arm. After scrutinizing the break for a few moments, she rushed off. She returned, clutching a small silver pole. She lined it up. It was almost exactly the same length as 11's forearm. Through her hollow skeleton, 13 inserted the pole, so that the crack almost lined up straight, as it had before. Now, with the small pole to keep the skeleton secure, she covered it with another piece of pasted paper. She then sewed it up with the last of the red thread.

Finally, she stood back and admired her handiwork. 11 tried out her newly-repaired arm. "Aw, thanks, 13!" she exclaimed. "It's just like new!"

As 13 sat down next to me, 7 leaned onto 9's shoulder. I glared up at her. So much for her not liking 9! She sighed, ignorant of me and looking down at 12, who was now surrounded by his poems. "He reminds me so much of 6…"

9 felt a pang of sadness in his heart when the little striped stitchpunk crossed his mind. "Yeah," he said, at a loss for words.

13 walked up to 7 again. "If you want, I could fix your arm," she said.

9 looked down, slightly surprised. He hadn't noticed that 7 was hurt. Now, he saw that she had a few new tears in her fabric just above and below her shield.

Suddenly, 12 ran up, grasping a piece of paper in his ink-covered hands. "I wrote you this poem," he said proudly, giving the paper to 9

9 straightened it and read,

_You're the one who guards us all,_  
><em>Within danger, you stand tall,<em>  
><em>But when the Beast attacks your one,<em>  
><em>Then your courage shall be done.<em>

He stared at it. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The one you love is in danger!" 12 cried, then ran off and began writing again.

"What?" 9 wondered, "But… 7's been attacked by Beasts loads of times. And my courage was never shortened then."

Looking over his shoulder, 12 cried, "Is 7 really the one you love?"

Just as 9 was about to answer, something struck him. He loved 7, but she could never be with him. She was a loner; she'd never settle down. But, I could give him everything he wanted, but he wasn't sure if he loved me. He looked over at 7, who was now being mended by 13. He felt a warm, intimate love towards her. He knew that he loved her, but he wasn't sure if she even liked him. Then, he turned his gaze to me. I was a much more childish stitchpunk in his eyes, someone who he could have a true relationship with, someone who he could dance with, someone to playfully kiss in the morning, and someone to hold his hand when he was scared. Even through he knew that I was an adult stitchpunk, he saw me as much less mature than 7, who'd fended for herself most of her life. He was sure that I liked him, but it seemed that 7 might like him as well. Unknown feelings clashed inside him.

11 was back with the twins, and the three of them were flipping through a book. "Oh, 10, look! It's beautiful!" 11 cried, pulling me over by the arm. She pointed onto the page to a fancy dress. "It suits you," she smiled.

"I probably won't ever get to wear anything that fancy," I grinned.

Suddenly, 4 tugged on 11's arm and dragged her over to the black instrument. 11's little optics lit up when her eyes fell onto it. Soon, all three of the littlest stitchpunks were banging away again, sending music through the library. 7 laughed and sat back down next to 13. I made sure to drag 9 up with me this time, and soon we were both dancing. 13 joined us soon after, but 7 didn't move. I waved her in, but she ignored me. Even when 9 tried to pull her onto the dance floor, she sat herself back down. 11, 3 and 4 had no trouble cranking out new tunes as they went. Finally, as the last pinks of the sunset faded from the sky, the younger stitchpunks slowed down. They weren't used to playing the black instrument for such long periods of time.

13 had sat down as well, just leaving 9 and me on the dance floor. As a slow song started, 13 rushed up and shoved 9 towards me. At first, I blushed like crazy, until 9 smiled at me. "Can I have this dance?" he asked.

I smiled. "Of course, 9."

As he wrapped his hands onto my waist, I encircled mine around his neck. Slowly, we rocked, back and forth. Something deep inside me stirred.

He stared into my eyes, seeing straight into the heart of my soul. He could see that I was pure; there was no hostility left. What he saw, deep in my eyes, was love. A reflection of love. Not mine, but someone else's. And, when I was with him, it filled me up completely.

I gazed up into his eyes, examining him. There was confusion—definitely about 7. He knew that she cared about him, but not as much as I did. There was also fear, for me and for 7. But, those emotions were clouded by another. I also saw love. He'd always wanted someone, and he'd been so sure that it'd be 7, but now, I could see he was having second thoughts.

Immersed in each other's eyes, we were oblivious to the world. As the song slowly came to a stop, he began to withdraw. Seeing what was happening, 13 rushed up behind me and gently pushed me forward. I went hurtling into 9, our lips gently touching. At first, shock was reflected on both of our faces, then his arms found their way back around my waist. Holding him tightly, I kissed him passionately. All my cares seemed to melt away; all that existed was 9's lips and his warmth. If I'd been paying more attention, I would've noticed 7 glaring at me. But, I was lost.

After what seemed like an eternity, we separated, each going over to our little families. 13 patted me on the shoulder. "I knew he liked you," she smiled. "You just needed a little… motivation." She looked down at her feet. "I… I got the idea from 14. Just before she died, I caught her and 15 kissing. They're probably both dead now, but at least you still have your guy."

I sighed. "Well, I guess he knows I like him now. I just hope that 7 won't be too mad. I'm sure that she and 9 had some relationship before. I just hope I didn't anger her…"

On the other side of the dance floor, 7 was boiling mad. Luckily, she kept all her emotions concealed inside of her for now. She didn't know why she was mad; she had no reason to be jealous. She was sure that she'd never liked 9 anymore than any of her other stitchpunk family. Then again… No, she was sure. There was no relationship between them. But still, something was nagging at the back of her mind. She cared about him. If he died, she'd want to die, too. Every second her eyes fell on 9, her stomach clenched. She grabbed her spear and her tipped down her skull helmet, then sprinted off in the other direction.

"7, wait!" 9 called after her, but it was too late.

7 sprinted down to her hideout. The first time she'd ventured into the library, she'd found it. A small hole in the wall that had once belonged to a family of mice. Now, she over turned the rock that covered the entrance and jumped into it. Gently twisting the bulb that hung from the ceiling, the small cave was soon illuminated by it's soft yellow glow.

7 wrapped her arms around her knees as the tears began. Now, she knew. She loved 9, but it was too late. He'd moved on; onto someone newer, someone more childish. Someone like me.

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><p><em>*Flashback*<br>_

_"Please!" I cried, tugging on his arm. "We can't do this without you."_

_"They all died because of me," 9 said, guilt reflecting in his eyes. "I started this, and now I need to finish it."_

_He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, then rushed off to face the in me stirred; something made me want to run after him, take his place, die for him. But, that something wasn't strong enough._

* * *

><p>As 7 remembered that, she truly realized how much she cared for 9. Letting her head droop, she thought to herself, <em>Face it. You've had a million chances to express how you felt about 9. It's too late now. Oh, how many times he'd shown his affection. I should've admitted it then.<em>

As sadness rolled in onto 7, a rumble from above forced her to raise her head. She cautiously lifted the entrance rock and caught sight of a Cat Beast, bigger that the usual ones. Ducking, she grabbed her spear, fastened on her skullmet and slid on her shield. She took a deep breath, then launched herself out of the cave. The Cat Beast followed in quick pursuit, following her every move. She used the blunt end of her spear as a pole vault, using it to launch herself forward. In mid jump, she veered off to the side, landing on a higher book. Now, at the Cat Beast's eye level, she launched herself into the air. Bringing her spear down, ready to chop off it's head, something stopped her. It was a voice.

_Great, now I'm hearing voices,_ she thought. But, then she heard it again. "Stop!"

She whirled around and caught sight of 9, waving his arms. "Look!" he cried, pointing to the Cat Beast. Around it's neck was the Talisman.

The Cat Beast roared again, it's metallic paw colliding with 7's body. She was sent flying backwards. Her skullmet was sent hurtling in the other direction. Hitting into a book, she landed, partially unconscious on the ground. The twins rushed up from behind and pulled her to the safety of their shelter. 13 rushed forward, grabbing 7's spear, and charged at the Cat Beast. As she rushed past 9, he grabbed her by the arm. He pointed at the Talisman, and she instantly got the message. Using the spear as a crowbar, she wedged it between the Talisman and the Cat Beast. Forcing it out, she caught the Talisman, and then brought the spear up into its neck. Using a crowbar-like motion again, 13 popped its head right off of its shoulders. There were a few sparks, the red light from its one eye faded, and it was still.

She walked back to 9 and handed him the Talisman. 7, who'd regained full consciousness, rushed up to 9. "Why did you just leave it there once you released their souls? You should've known that some other Beast would find it sooner or later. Who knows what it might've done with that? I don't want to lose any more of you!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't think," 9 cried. "At least we have it now."

"She's here," 12 whispered from his place behind me.

"Well, there's another Talisman," 13 called, walking forward. "14 had it, then that Beast took her body. I'm sure that this was the same Beast, but I don't know where 14 and 15 are."

"How do you know it's the same?" 7 asked suspiciously. "There's a lot of roaming Beasts out there."

"When it attacked us, it had that Talisman," 13 snapped, pointing to the coppery Talisman that 9 still held. "That's the Talisman that contains 14's soul!"

"Well, if the Beast had this Talisman, and 14 had the other, you'd think that the Beast might've started to reassemble the Fabrication Machine? They're learning creatures; they could figure out how to fix it!" 7 cried.

"What's a Fabric-Nation Machine?" 11 asked.

"There was this thing, the BRAIN, that was created by the same Scientist that made us," 9 explained to her. "When it was put into this big body, it began making new machines, then those machines attacked the people. There was a huge war, and when it ended, we thought we were the only life forms left. Then, the Fabrication Machine was reawakened–"

"By you," 7 interrupted.

9 sighed. "Yes, I reawakened it. Then, it killed about half of our friends, taking in their souls to become more powerful. Eventually, we defeated it, and it blew up. We all thought that that would be the end of it."

"But, of course, it's not the end," 7 snapped. "Now, there's another Talisman out there, and some Roaming Beast could be bringing it back right now."

"She's here," 12 repeated, but this time, he was noticeably louder. "I can feel her… she's here… so powerful…"

"What?" 11 asked as 12 began to quake.

"She's here… she thinks she can communicate… through me…" Suddenly, he walked over to the wall and banged his head. "Get out of my head! I don't _want _you here!"

"Who's in your head?" I asked slowly. When 12 didn't answer, I gently shook him. "12, tell me!"

"F-F-Fourteen," he whispered. "She's here… she tells me that the F-F-Fabrication Machine isn't a-a-awake yet. It's going together, finding parts… fixed now. But 15… he's still alive. The Beast… it's close, too close… She says that we h-h-have to save 15."

"Where are they?" I asked again.

"The Machine… it's been moved. N-N-Now, it's over the bridge. We have to find it."

7 looked at the rain-spattered window. "Not in this weather."

"We have to go now!" 12 cried. "Soon, it'll be too late. The Beast is close… the Beast is close! No, no, no, no…"

"Well, I guess we're going now," 13 said, looking at poor fragile 12. "Even if he's a little crazy, he's never been wrong before."

"I don't want to get soaked," 7 said, looking out at the now pouring rain. "It's so hard to fight with wet fabric. It just weighs me down."

"What if we used some of this?" 11 asked, holding up a piece of tarp. "It looks waterproof. We could cut it into jackets to keep us dry… right, 13?"

She shrugged. "First of all, I'm not some kind of seamstress."

9 shivered. "Ok, don't say that."

13 looked a little freaked out, but continued, "Ok, then let's say I'm not that good at sewing."

"But you fixed me!" 11 exclaimed, waving her arm wildly in the air. "You're really good, and I'm sure that you could make us some jackets!"

"I could try," 13 admitted. "But it'd take a while. We won't be going anywhere for at least half an hour."

"That could give us time to prepare our things," I pointed out. "If we're going on a mission, we'll need some supplies."

11 smiled up at 13. "Please?"

Sighing, 13 smiled. "Ok, 11. I'll start with you."

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I knew I had to put some 9x7 in this story. But, it's too late for her now. **

**If you have any suggestions, or comments, please leave a review. I think that's it. Happy Holidays, everyone!  
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	8. The Bridge

**A/N: Hello peoples! Unfortunately, this is the shortest chapter yet! Yay! Or, not. To make up for it, it's a cliffhanger! I hope everyone is having a good holiday season so far!  
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**I'm taking a little vacation down to the countryside, so I hope to get some good writing done there. I always find it's just more peaceful out there, far away from the busyness of the city. I actually finished another of my stories there, so I think that I'll have at least the next chapter ready by the time I get back.  
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**DISCLAIMER: I don't own 9. I hope you get that by now.  
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><p><em><strong>Chapter 8- the Bridge<strong>_

After studying a book on human's clothes, 13 took measurements of each of us with a scrap of what she called a 'measurement string'. Once she'd gotten to work, she was very efficient, and had the six jackets sewed up within half an hour. Of course, we only needed six jackets because the twins were staying in the library. We were tempted to leave 11 and 12 behind as well, but 11 insisted on coming, and 12 knew where this 'bridge' was.

When I tried on the jacket, it was a perfect fit. The blue of the tarp looked nice next to my creamy fabric. After putting up the hood, I pushed my hair back into it.

7 didn't seem to thrilled about her jacket, and immediately disliked the hood. She left it down and insisted on just wearing her skullmet. She also said that the tarp-like material confined her movements, making it harder for her to fight. When I pointed out that it was her that said that she didn't want to get wet, she was silenced for the moment.

Just before we set out, 12 came up to me. "I–I see darkness. Darkness and silence. I'm scared,10. Sc-scared!"

I wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer. "Don't worry, bud. You'll be fine. You just need to show us where the bridge is. You don't have to be afraid of the darkness; I'll protect you." He seemed pleased with that response, as he stopped talking.

When we were outside, the rain was pouring harder than ever. Luckily, with our new jackets, none of us got too wet. "Where's this bridge?" 13 called back to 12.

"I-I don't know!" he yelled back. "But, I think it's that way!" He pointed north, out into the Emptiness.

As the howling wind picked up, it became harder and harder to walk. Between our jackets being blown open and 11 being blown off her feet, the journey slowed.

Eventually, at what seemed to be about midday, we spotted what 12 referred to as a 'bridge'. It was more like a few hastily slapped together pieces of wood that were suspended over a raging river. I figured that it must've only been a small stream usually, but the heavy rainfall had increased the height of the water.

"Are you sure this is the right bridge?" I called to 12 over the wind.

He nodded his head. "Positive. This is the one she showed my in my head. I think. She said, '_the Machine lies over the bridge_' but it might've been another bridge. I–I don't know!"

"12, you have to be sure," I cried. "I don't want anyone falling into that river."

9 went first, testing the durability of the bridge. It seemed to hold, so 13 followed close behind. After her came 12, then me. 11 was grasping my hand from behind, and 7 brought up the rear.

As I neared the other side, I began to feel my fear melting away. It seemed we were all going to make it! Just as my right foot touched the ground, I heard a shriek from behind me. 11 had been blown off the bridge, and was hanging onto 7's arm for dear life. As I tried to rush back and grab her, 13 held me back. As 7 struggled to pull the little stitchpunk back on, I shoved 13 out of the way. Grabbing 11's other arm from land, I helped 7 pull her back onto land. As I dragged 11 onto land, 7 released her grasp on 11's arm. Just as she was one step from land, the bridge creaked and gave way.

A spark of fear was visible on 7's face, then she plummeted into the churning water. All that was visible was one white hand pushing through the choppy surface, then it was gone.


	9. Still Alive

**A/N: I'm back! And the vacation was great! I finished this chapter yesterday, but I forgot to update! I also wrote a short fic based on a song, but it was on paper, so I still need to type it in. Hopefully it will be published soon.**

**Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY! Since it's the last day of 2011, I decided to update!  
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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 9 or any of it's associated content.  
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><p><em><strong>Chapter 9–Still Alive<br>**_

"7!" 9 cried, launching himself forward. Just as he was about to dive into the river, 13 let go of me, then caught and restrained him as well. 11 was slightly behind us, still on the ground from where 7 had thrown her, and crying. 12 was out of sight.

I actually felt a pang of sadness. 7 had saved 11. _My_ 11. Now, she was gone. Gone, over the edge, and into the river.

I looked back and 9, and he looked heartbroken. I realized that he still liked her. I felt _terrible_ about dancing with 9. I'd been such a jerk to her, and she still saved 11.

"There it is…" 12 said quietly. We all spun around and caught sight of him, standing in front of the Fabrication Machine. Its dead body was lying on the ground in a heap with the BRAIN facing up. The connection port for the Talisman was clearly visible.

"The Beast must be around here somewhere…" 13 stated, finally releasing 9 from her grip. "Be careful."

A growling from behind made us all turn back to the river. On the other side, a Cat Beast was looking down into the river. It scrutinized the gap between its side and where we now stood.

"Don't move," I whispered out of the corner of my mouth. Everyone was already frozen in their steps.

Before anyone could say anything else, the Beast plunged into the water. Fighting the current, it swam around, diving it's head in and out of the water.

As it got closer and closer to us, 9, 13 and I took our places in front of 11 and 12. 9 held his light staff, I grasped my homemade spear, and 13 clutched 7's spear in one hand and her short blade in the other.

Just as the Cat Beast reached our side of the river, it's whole body disappeared under the surface. Suddenly, it popped back up again, launching itself onto the muddy wall that lead from the river up to the patch of dirt where we were standing. As it dug its claws into the dirt, it was able to climb it's way up the sheer wall, and soon, it was sprawled out, exhausted, on the ground. A stitchpunk jumped off the Cat Beast's back, it's head covered by a skull helmet.

"7?" 9 asked, staring in disbelief at the figure. He soon noticed that this skullmet was made out of what must've once been a mouse's top jaw. The figured bent down and patted the Cat Beast on the snout. It let out a sound that could only be of relief. Next, the figure went back, and off of the Cat Beast's back, brought out 7.

9 gave a sigh of relief, but the rest of us remained silent and frozen. The figure gently laid 7's unconscious form on the ground, then positioned his ear above her mouth. When he heard nothing, he immediately began the chest compressions. _One, two, three, four…_ once he reached 30 compressions, he listened again. Still no breath! He pumped two of his own breaths into her, then did another 30 chest compressions. We all watched in silence, not wanting to disturb his work. He repeated his process about three times, then 7 started coughing. He rolled her onto her side, and she spewed out the muddy water that she'd inhaled. Once she'd expelled all the water from inside her, she lay, exhausted, on her back. She stared up at her saviour. He still knelt beside her, making sure she wasn't having any trouble breathing. As he lifted his mask, a tuft of dark brown hair fell over one of his eyes in a very familiar style.

11 was the one to break the silence. "15!" she cried, running over to her brother.

"You're alive!" 13 exclaimed, rushing over to him as well. 12 followed.

It only then occurred to me that I'd never met 15 before. I'd run off before he'd awoken, and then he wasn't with 11, 12, and 13 when they'd arrived.

As 7 struggled to sit up, 15 gently helped her. He handed her her shield and skullmet.

He stood now, helping 7 up. I noticed that his spear was tipped with the tooth of a Cat Beast. Looking down at the collapsed Beast on the ground, I noticed that it was missing its front right canine tooth.

"So you tamed it," 13 smiled, patting the Beast on it's snout.

15 gave a little laugh. "More like I showed it who's boss. When that other one took 14 and I, I managed to get away. I gave 14 a proper burial, and now I have this." He unzipped his chest and held out a green Talisman.

"So now we have them both," 13 said, pulling the red Talisman out from her chest. "That means the Fabrication Machine can't be awakened. So… we're safe."

As the rain slowly stopped, everyone was smiling. 15, 7 and 11 were riding on the Cat Beast, which 11 had named Skittles, while the rest of us walked along. I'd started out at the front of the pack, but I soon fell back and walked alongside 9. Somehow, my fingers found their way in between his. When I noticed, I awkwardly tried to pull away, still guilty about him and 7. He gently squeezed my hand and weakly smiled at me. So, we walked, hand in hand, 12 slightly behind, 13 slightly ahead.

As the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, illuminating the library as we neared it. I took off my jacket and handed it to 13. "Those worked really well," I told her.

Suddenly, 15 ran up on the Cat Beast's back. "Where should I put her?" he asked, patting her on the snout.

"Can Skittles stay in with us?" 11 asked.

The thought of the Cat Beast staying inside while we slept chilled me to the bone. When 15 caught sight of my expression, he said, "Don't worry, she's completely tame. She doesn't hurt anything unless I tell her to."

11 looked up at me, blinking her huge optics at me. "Please?"

I sighed. "Ok, fine."

The sun was now setting, and we were all tired from our party last night. Now that 15 was staying with us, we had to organize new sleeping positions. 11 insisted on sleeping with the Cat Beast, and 3 and 4 agreed to stay with her. 12 found a box filled with balled up socks. He laid them out in the ground, in a straight line. As the cool night air began to seep into the library, we slipped into our sock sleeping bags. 11, 3 and 4 were leaned up against the Cat Beast, who was sitting watch.

9 curled up in his sock next to me. I rolled over and looked at him. He pointed over his shoulder. I lifted my head just enough to see over him. I spotted 7 and 15, who were quietly talking. 7 was smiling more than since I'd first seen her. Because everyone else was silent, I could hear ever word of their conversation.

"Thanks for saving me," 7 grinned.

"It was nothing," 15 smiled. "I learned some human techniques of life saving when I was off on my own. At first, I wasn't sure what to do, but once I'd escaped that Beast, I was on my own for a while. I hid in what the humans called a 'pool'. It used to be filled with water for the humans to swim in, but during the war, it was drained. I spent countless nights on my own, struggling to stay warm. There was this poster that I always read. It was covered with the instructions on how to do what the humans called 'CPR'. When I saw you fall into the river, I knew I had to save you. After I'd gotten your body out of the river, all that time studying that poster came in handy."

"I thought I was going to die," 7 said.

"I wouldn't have let you die," 15 assured her. 7 let out a little giggle as he smiled at her.

My stomach clenched. I never thought I'd see 7 giggling. Now, I wasn't nearly so guilty about taking 9 from 7. I thought about what 13 had told me. _I got the idea from 14. Just before she died, I caught her and 15 kissing. _Maybe 15 was just very flirty. At least 7 was distracted now.

I propped my head up with my arm and turned my attention back to 15 and 7. 15 was now holding her hand. He gently caressed it as she blushed. He held it up to his mouth and gently kissed it. She giggled again and smiled.

I let my head drop down onto my pillow and looked 9 in the eye. Now, I began to blush. "About that k-kiss earlier, when we were dancing… I just want to tell you… I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," 9 said.

"It's just… I didn't realize that you and 7 had a relationship."

"We didn't really," 9 told me. "I just… we were just friends."

"I just… didn't want to bother you. I hope you didn't mind. The kiss, I mean."

"It's ok," 9 said. He gave my hand another gentle squeeze. "Good night,10."

I smiled, still partly stunned. "Nighty night, 9." As I curled into my sleeping bag, I thought to myself, _I guess that there could be some romance between 9 and me. Now that 7 has 15, we could be together. If we wanted._ I smiled as drowsiness fell onto me. _Oh, 9._


	10. The Diary

**A/N: Hi again! Sorry, it's been a while since I updated. *_Checks calendar_*** **What? It's only been a week? Well, it was my first week back at school; I need some time to adjust. **

**This chapter has** **a few things that were a bit hard to explain, so I hope I did a good job! There's also a little bit of 5x7 later on in the chapter.  
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**Originally, this chapter and the next one were just one chapter, so that was why they were updated at the same time. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 10 - The Diary<strong>_

I was awakened by the sound of a huge rumble in the distance. My eyes popped open as I slipped out of my sock. The sky was still gray as the sun began to rise in the distance. The rain had stopped completely over night, and the world was wet with dew. As I climbed up to my perch by the window, I peered out.

I couldn't see what had made the rumbling, but I stayed up at the window. I sat, legs hanging over the ledge. I noticed some movement from below and saw 12 making his way up to me. When he was close enough for me to see him, I noticed his worried expression.

"She says it's awake!" he cried, grasping my arm. "It's awake!"

"What's awake?" I asked.

"The Machine…" he whispered. "It's awake."

"What? How?" I cried. The others were now stirring below.

"The extra piece… it–it had a s-soul…" 12 muttered.

"_My_ extra piece?" I asked. "How?"

"It found it… the Cat Beast… a-and now it's awake…"

"Are you sure?" I cried. 12 wrung his hands and whimpered a little. I put my hands on his shoulder. "12…"

"What's happening?" 9 asked, scrambling up.

"12 says that the Fabrication Machine is awake again," I quickly explained. "He says that the piece you took out of me had a soul, and another Cat Beast delivered it to the Machine."

"What?" 9 exclaimed. I could clearly recognize the fear that he tried to hide. I knew how the Machine had taken the lives of his friends, and how guilty he felt for waking it the first time.

I bent down and looked 12 straight in the eye. "Where is it now?"

"It's here…" he muttered. Then, louder, "It's here!"

Every stitchpunk whirled around as something smashed through the front of the library. The Fabrication Machine stood; it's one red eye glaring down at us. It's gaze bounced around the room, then froze on 12.

"It's here…" he whispered.

Suddenly, a beam of red light flooded out of the Machine's eye and focused on 12. As it's eye slowly shut, a green light began to glow from underneath it. A brilliant bolt of green lightning sprung out and struck 12. A look of pure fear was visible on his face, then a foggy green light was pulled out of his mouth and eyes. It suddenly stopped, then 12's body fell limp onto the ground.

All of us were frozen, looks of horror on each of our faces. 13 caught our attention. "RUN!"

We all sprinted off in the other direction. 3 and 4 lead us out a small crack in the back wall. We all squeezed through, but the Fabrication Machine just smashed through after us.

"This way!" 7 cried, veering off to the left. "I know a hideout!"

We all followed her, but the Fabrication Machine was relentless. 7 lead us off into what must've once been a school. One of the doors was propped open. 7 lead us through, then poked her head out. She could see that the Fabrication Machine continued to crawl it's way across the street and past the school.

I sighed and collapsed against the wall. "What…what happened to 12?"

All the other stitchpunks exchanged glances. "10's never seen anything like that before," 13 finally said. "She wasn't there when 14 died."

"It took his soul," 9 said quietly. I could tell that he was _very_ upset at the Fabrication Machine's return. "But, I've never seen it from a distance before. It always had to hold the stitchpunk right up to it. Now, it seems to be able to suck out our souls from a distance. We have to be extra careful."

"And I've never seen it move like that before," 7 whispered. "It was always a stationary machine, the only time it moved was when we blew up the factory."

4 ran up to the wall where she projected my extra piece, followed by one of the Fabrication Machine. Next, she projected me battling 7, and the expression on my face was one of pure evil.

"Is anyone else getting any of that?" 13 asked.

"That extra piece was filled with evil, and when it was combined with the Fabrication Machine, it made it way more powerful," 7 translated. "Am I right?" Both of the twins nodded.

I felt something small and warm run into me. I looked down and caught sight of 11, who'd buried her head in my chest. She was sobbing. "I can't believe that 12's gone," she cried. "And I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye…"

"We have to keep going, sweetie," I quietly told her as I flattened her hair. "Now, we're all in danger. That thing's very powerful. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you."

"So, 7, how do you know about this place?" 13 asked, looking around at the school.

7 paused for a second, staring off into space. She finally replied, "For a while after I'd first left the rest of the stitchpunks, I stayed here. Some of my supplies are still here." She absentmindedly reaching for a spear propped up against the wall. "I didn't think I'd ever be back here."

As 11 continued to cry, 9 gave my hand a gentle squeeze, then walked off. Still holding 11 close to me, I moved over and sat down on an abandoned pencil case. As I sat her down, I looked around at the school. We seemed to be in the front hall; lockers on both sides surrounded us. The ones on the left were beige and the ones on the right were red. Another hallway branched off to the left, and at the end of the hall, there were two sets of crumbling staircases, one going up, one going down. Leaving 11 on the pencil case, a got up.

"I'm going to explore," I stated. "9, I'm bringing your light staff."

"Say please," he teased, holding it away playfully.

I rolled my eyes. "_Pleeeeease_?"

He chuckled and handed me the staff. "Don't wander too far."

I grabbed the staff from him, then set out down the hall. Once I'd gotten to the staircases, I chose to go down. It looked in better condition than the upward one. I crept down the steps, testing each one to make sure that it wouldn't crumble. Once I'd gotten to the bottom, I saw another row of yellow lockers. Most of them were still shut, with locks still on them. Then, my eyes fell onto one near the center of the row. It was propped open with a spear; the exact kind of spear that 7 loved to use. I ran over to it and opened it. Inside, there was a folded up sheet of fabric, three spears leaned against the wall, and a small book. I could tell it wasn't man-made; it was the perfect size for stitchpunks. I walked over and opened it.

The first page read _My Journal, _and I flipped it over and continued to read. On the next page, I read,

**_Day One_**

_Dear Journal, _

_Today I left 1 and his group of fearful 'punks. I couldn't stand begin with them any longer. I'm already regretting it. I chose this locker, 156, to remind me. 1, to remind me why I left, 5, to remember what I lost, and 6, to remember why I came. Yesterday, he came to me and told me that if I were ever to leave, I should come here, to the school. _

_The one thing I have to remember them by is my shield. Just before I left, 5 gave it to me. He said that I should use it to defend myself if I ever needed to. It's a bit big, and it kept slipping off. I might make a few changes. For now, I just need something to remind me of him.  
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_Anyway, I'm going to continue exploring now._

_Sincerely,_

_7_

I stared in silence at the book, then continued to read.

**_Day Seven_**

_Dear Journal,_

_It's been a week since I've seen another living soul. I'm beginning to feel slightly lonely. Now, I wish I'd asked 5 to come along. It's too late now. He probably wouldn't have come along anyway.  
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_Today, I ventured outside for the first time since I'd arrived. The war is still raging out there, and from now on, I'm going to carry a weapon with me at all times. I also found the skeleton of a bird on the second level of the school. I'm thinking about using its skull as a helmet. It seems to be a good idea. _

_Sincerely,_

_7_

"Who's 5?" I wondered aloud. He definitely wasn't one of the stitchpunks I knew, so I guess that the Fabrication Machine had killed him. I considered mentioning him to 9, but I was afraid that if he had been killed, 9 would feel guilty. I continued to read.

**_Day Thirteen_**

_Dear Journal,_

_I explored the outside again for some time with my new skull helmet, or 'skullmet' as I like to call it. I'm also making a cape out its feathers. While I was out, I happened to find the twins, hiding in a library at the other end of the street. I was overjoyed to have someone to talk to, even if they didn't respond. It was the happiest I'd been since I'd run away. But, I'd never go back. 1 would just lock me up, like he's probably doing to 5 right now. _

_On my way back, this Beast-thing attacked. The Machines seemed to have stopped venturing here, but now, this beast keeps coming. I first saw it a few days ago. I think it has a cat skull for a head. Anyway, it came up behind me and ripped open my back. With the twin's help, and some red leathery fabric, I'm mended again. At least I can tell I'm getting stronger. I can feel the power from within me; I'm becoming more and more agile. The next time the Cat Beast comes, I'll be ready. _

_Sincerely,_

_7_

**_Day Twenty-Six_**

_Dear Journal,_

_I don't know how often I'll be coming here anymore. Yesterday, while exploring the second floor, the floor gave in and I fell. Luckily, I wasn't injured too severely (Only a few tears on my legs, nothing too serious), but the whole building is falling apart. I'll only come here if there's an emergency. Of course, I'll still be here occasionally; this is MY place, these days, but I don't think I'll ever bring the twins here. _

_I'm scouting further and further from the school these days. The one place that I'm being drawn to is the Factory. Every day, I see the Cat Beast running off in the direction of it, and something inside me just wants to know. I'll probably go explore there sometime soon._

_Sincerely, _

_7_

**_Day Thirty-Five_**

_Dear Journal,_

_Today, I took down my first Cat Beast! _ _Now, I know that you have to attack from above, because they can't see you coming! If you bring down your spear (or whatever) right on it's neck, the head come right off! Now, I'm ready for anything. I hope. Soon, I'm going to the Factory. I hope that there won't be anything worse than a Cat Beast there._

_Sincerely, _

_7_

_**Day Thirty-Eight**_

_Dear Journal,  
>Recently, when I was exploring out by the Factory, I came across two stitchpunks. One was definitely 5, but the other was one that I'd never seen before. After following them, I defeated another Cat Beast, saving them all. 2, who also was there, seemed as relieved to see me as 5. I then learned that our new stitchpunk friend's name was 9. He seems... nice. I guess.<br>_

_Of course, while our backs were turned, he had to awaken that thing…I don't even know how to describe it. It was terrible, and sent fear trembling down my spine. It killed 2, right before our very eyes. Then, as any mass-murdering machine would do, it tried to kill us. Luckily, I was able to lead 5 and 9 to safety, and I brought them to the library.  
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_3 and 4 knew exactly what 9'd done, and after he'd drawn a picture of what awakened the machine, 5 recognized it. He knew that it was what 6 had drawn, so typically, he insisted on going back and scavenging some of 6's doodles.  
>The fact that I might've had to go back to 1 was a terrifying thought indeed. What if he was mad? What if he didn't want me to come back? In confusion, I fled back to the school. I'm already feeling guilty for leaving 5 and 9 to deal with this Machine on their own. And I have to face 1 sometime.<br>_

_I feel terrible for letting them just go back to 1. He'll probably lock them away when he hears what they've done. And now that the Machine is awake again, it'll be sending more machines after them. I should probably go. There's no time like the present.  
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_Oh, and one more thing. I'm never coming back to the school. I know, now, with that Machine coming after us, I have to leave at least one place as a last-resort hideaway. Farewell, dear journal._

_This is 7, signing off for the last time._


	11. Odessa

_**Chapter 11–Odessa**_

As I ruffled through the rest of the pages of 7's journal, I realized that they were all blank. I quickly returned 7's journal to its previous position. I continued to look through the wing of the school. Across from 7's locker home, there was one classroom that I found was filled with instruments. Once, it must've been a lively place filled with music. Now, it was silent.

I moved on. There was only one other classroom, farther off, but this one broke into two rooms. One room was filled with saws and wood. After a thorough exploration, I moved onto the linked room. Over the door, someone had strung _CAUTION_ tape across it. I ignored it; the humans blocked off many other places. As I pushed the door open, a horrifying sight met my eyes.

In the classroom, the bodies of children lay scattered across the room. There were about twenty of them, with an old grey haired man dead in the front seat. One of the room's high windows had been smashed open, and the oh-so familiar body of a gas bomb lay on the floor. I quickly knew that that had killed all the children. I slowly went around, examining the children. Most of them still had terrified expressions frozen on their faces. One or two had been hiding under the desks, but it'd made no difference. As I hoisted myself up onto a table, their unfinished work chilled me straight through my wood-and-metal skeleton.

As I walked along, I studied their work. Most of them had the same thing written down, obviously something copied from the teacher. I suddenly stopped at one girl, who'd slumped forwards in her chair. On her paper, it read, _Stitchpunks_. Along the margins, she'd doodled the Talisman, and a few very rough stitchpunk sketches. I gently walked over and patted her limp hand. Suddenly, I realized that she had something grasped in it. I pried her fingers open and unraveled a piece of paper that had been in her hand. I read it:

_Dear stitchpunks,  
><em>

_Yes, I know you're reading this. I've heard of the Scientist's ways. I believe him to be the most brilliant man in existence, even if one of his creations is going to destroy us all. They told us to go to school, so we'd be protected from the war, but I knew that was wrong. I knew we were going to die, school or no school. That's why, since I was six years old, I've been working on a Talisman of my own. One vaguely similar to the Scientist's, but completely different at the same time. It harnesses the good of someone's soul, and expands it, so to make a perfectly, purely good soul. It's very potent, and I believe that it may be able to destroy Machines of pure evil, but it's never been tested. It probably never will be. I just needed to make it.  
><em>

_This is such a cruel world we live in. My life, ended at the age of thirteen. I'll never have a chance to live to the fullest, or expanded my already vast legions of knowledge. That's why I've included a bit of myself in a Talisman of my own. I used nearly all my soul, all but the last bit I needed to remain alive. I wear it around my neck, to remind me of what's really out there. And that gives me hope. So, if you ever get the chance, bring me back. Please. I'll be able to help you. If you can't bring me back, my pure soul Talisman is hidden in plain sight. All you have to do is look for it.  
><em>

_Well, I think my time's nearly at the end. Just let me tell you—you're my only hope._

_Thank you, stitchpunks._

_-Odessa H. Smith_

I stared at the note for a few seconds before realization hit into me. I slipped the note into my chest, then pulled off a necklace from around the girl's neck. On it, was her own version of the Talisman. It was made out of gold, and in silver, three letters had been placed on it. _O.H.S._ I slipped that into my chest as well. As I slid the door shut, I continued to think of Odessa's letter. _A soul of pure good, strong enough to defeat the Fabrication Machine? Well, that'd be brilliant, except for the fact that we didn't have it. She said it was hidden in plain sight. What's that s'posed to mean?_

Still deep in thought, I clambered back up the stairs. When I'd reached the camp, I nearly tripped over 9. Actually, I did trip. Nearly landing on my face, I was caught by 9 just in time.

"Whoa," he said, steadying me. "Careful there."

"Yeah, sorry," I said, a little embarrassed. "It's just…" I brought out the paper and the Talisman to him. "What d'you make of this?" After all of the other stitchpunks had examined the letter, we decided to give it a shot.

"Hey, there's always room for one more," 13 smiled.

"My only question is, how'll we get the body? And, if we do, how d'we get the soul into it?" I asked.

"We could always sew up a new body," 7 suggested. "And I'm sure we could find some robotic parts for the skeleton."

"And I'm guessing we just connect the Talisman to it and release the soul," 13 shrugged.

9 scratched his head. "That could work."

"Listen, this Odessa girl could be a great advantage for us. We need someone who really knows what's going on," 15 stated.

We all shrugged and began to head to the room that 7 told us had all the sewing supplies. After we'd walked through an empty kitchen, we entered a room filled with string. 15 and 7 headed back down to the room full of bodies where 7 insisted there were some good electronic parts.

After they'd returned, 13, 9, 11 and the twins began to work on the skeleton. 7 pulled me aside. "You read my diary, didn't you?"

"Uh…"

"Yeah, I knew it."

"But… I won't ever tell any one what it said!"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good. I'm going down to check out that Odessa girl. You coming?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

As we ventured back down, 7 quietly said, "9 really loves you."

My stomach twisted. It embarrassed me, because I wasn't sure if I truly loved 9. "Well, I think 15 likes you," I replied.

"He seems… nice," 7 said after some consideration. She pushed open the door, and the sight of the room caught me by surprise again. I tried to take in more. The first time, I'd focused on the side of the room closest to me. Most of the kids had the same horrified expression on. One or two were holding hands. My stomach clenched a bit as I thought of 9 again.

"Yo, 10!" 7 cried from up on the table. "Which one's Odessa?"

I walked over. "That one," I said, pointing at slouched over Odessa. 

7 pulled out a scrap of paper from her chest and grabbed a pencil from a child's hand. She quickly sketched down a picture of Odessa, but stitchpunk-ed her up a little. She had the same face shape, same hair, which was worn in a tight braid over her left shoulder. 7 included her curving form, gathering the fabric at the waist, making her look more feminine. As a final touch, she copied over necklace she was wearing, the walked up and ripped off the heart-shaped locket from it.

She held it up in front of me as I pried it open. "Something so she can remember her old life." Inside the locket, there were two pictures, the one on the left being of a man with black hair in military uniform, who I presumed was her father. On the right, there was a photo of a woman, whose short, pale brown hair fell in curls around her face. I guessed that this was her mother.

As 7 finished the touches to her sketch, we headed back upstairs, where the other stitchpunks were nearly done the skeleton.

"3 and 4 really know what they're doing," 9 said. "And so does 11."

Strangely, the usually absentminded young stitchpunk was working hard of the finishing touches to what would be Odessa's right arm. She gave one final flourish of a screwdriver, then stood back to admire her work. Odessa's skeleton was now nearly complete, and the twins were searching for a few final pieces, like her optics and voice box. Once they'd gathered the parts, we all began to work on her outward appearance. We chose some white fabric for her main skin, and after some research, some browny gold fabric for her hair. 13 was mainly in charge of the sewing, and she clearly knew what she was doing.

After a few hours of work, we finally completed Odessa's body. Now, all we needed was the soul. I took the Talisman, then attached it with a few wires to Odessa's insides, then pressed each of the sections slowly and in a counter-clockwise motion. It started vibrating, but I held it tightly. It suddenly burst open and a green light flooded out of it. The light paused in midair for a moment, then settled in on Odessa's body. At first, it didn't move, then her optics flickered open. She gently lifted herself off the ground and into a sitting position. She looked at her hand and jerked back in surprise. She moved her fingers gingerly, and examined her hand.

11 was beaming, and she elbowed 4 in the side. "It's actually working!" she exclaimed quietly.

Odessa turned, and when she caught sight of us she gasped. "Is—Is this real?"

"Yes," I said surely. "Yes it is."

She smiled. "I knew you guys would come through." She scratched her head. "But… who am I?"

"Uh… you're Odessa," I said. "Don't you remember?"

"It's all a little… foggy," she said. "I was Odessa, you say? What did I like?"

"Uh…"

"What's this?" she asked, holding up the locket that we'd strung around her neck. She popped it open and gasped. As she looked at the two pictures of her parents, she sighed and frowned. "Even though I don't really remember them, I miss them…" she whispered. Suddenly, something behind her eyes sparked. "Wait… there was a gas bomb, and it flew in the window! I was in class, and Mr. Power was going on about how to protect ourselves, then it flew in. Oh… the horror… Everyone was panicking, then I grabbed the note… then… oh, no…" She began to shudder, and I walked over to comfort her. As I let her lean onto my shoulder, I noticed that the twins and 11 had made her slightly smaller than me; about the same size as 13. "I died," she whispered into my shoulder. "But… I'm alive."

"You said you had some kind of '_soul of pure good_'," 13 repeated. "Do you know where it is?"

"I hid it… in plain sight…" Odessa whispered. "_Plain sight_… where's plain sight?"

7 sighed. "We were hoping you could tell us."

"Hope!" Odessa suddenly exclaimed. "It was my middle name! I remember that!"

"And do you remember where plain sight is?" 15 prompted.

Odessa hung her head. "No."

"Plain sight… plain sight…" 9 muttered.

"Repeating it isn't going anywhere," Odessa called over to him. "Anyway, I'm glad you stitchpunks found my soul." Her face lit up. "Hey, I remember what we are."

"Good," I complimented. "Just, keep trying to remember. I'll set up and extra sleeping bag at camp."

Scrambling over some debris that partially blocked the doorway, I made it out into the front hall. While I'd been down exploring, the rest of the stitchpunks had laid out some supplies, which were mostly just bits and pieces of fabric that they'd found in the school. I tried to open some of the lockers, and only succeeded with one. Inside, there was a grey sweater and a few books. I pulled the sweater off it's hook and dragged it back to the sewing room, where the rest of the stitchpunks were gathered. I brought the sweater over to 13. "D'you think you can make s'more sleeping bags with this?"

She stretched the fabric. "I think I'll manage." She clambered up onto a table that was covered with spools of thread. She selected a matching grey thread, grabbed a needle and a pair of scissors and began to work.

I smiled. Over the course of the last few weeks, every one from my clan of stitchpunks had been discovering their hidden talents. 14 was very motherly, the dead could communicate the future through 12, 11 was amazing at robotics, 13 was a pro sewer, and 15 was a stone cold animal tamer. What about me? The only thing I was good at was making mistakes. If I hadn't thrown out my extra piece, the Fabrication Machine wouldn't be awake!

As I let my legs dangle off the edge of the table, 9 sat down next to me. As he lowered himself onto the edge of the table, I sighed. "9..."

"Yeah?"

"I feel... terrible. It's my fault that 12's dead now. And 14. And Mum." I placed my head in my hands. "I just don't know..."

9 shrugged. "I'm sure that something else would've happened eventually, and–" He stopped himself when he noticed that I was crying. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It's ok. I know exactly how you feel. If I hadn't bee so... stupid, all my friends would still be alive now."

"The others hate me," I sobbed.

"No, no, they don't. I'm sure," he forced me to look up by placing a hand under my chin. "No one would blame you. It wasn't your fault that the Cat Beast found your extra piece. And we had to take it out."

"Really?" I wiped my eye. "You think?"

He nodded. "I know." He awkwardly ducked his head. "Um... I _like _you, 10."

I blushed a bit. "I... I like you, too."

Without quite realizing what was happening, 9's lips were suddenly pressed up against mine. My optics had shut, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Right then, something clicked in my was the first time _9 _had kissed me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi again. I knew from the start that I was going to have some human-based stitchpunk. I guess that's going to be Odessa! I hope that I'm not adding too many new characters. Anyway, if you enjoyed, please leave a comment! Thanks! **


	12. Nightmares and Memories

**A/N: Hi! Well, yesterday, I got a new review from someone who'd never reviewed before, and it made my day! While I was motivated, I got a good start on this chapter, and it's finished now! It was sort of awkward to finish, but I tried my best!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 12 – Nightmares and Memories<br>**_

"9!" I cried as he ran towards me. The long green grass flowed gently in the breeze. A butterfly fluttered by, and birds chirped in the morning air. The warm summer sun had just peeked out from behind a cloud, illuminating the scene.

"10!" he exclaimed happily, throwing himself into my open arms. I hugged him tightly, until I felt someone's eyes digging into my back. 9 and I whirled around, still holding each other, to find 7, glaring at us. She leapt down and pried us apart with her spear. She pushed me aside and passionately kissed 9. Anger boiled up inside of me, the anger of which I recognized from my extra piece. As I smashed 7 away from 9, I caught my reflection on a window and saw that I was the Fabrication Machine. _What? _I reached down with one of my long arms and grabbed 9 and pulled him up to me. As his soul was sucked into me, I laughed a terrible, inhuman laugh. Suddenly, it all began to shake, then fade. _10! _I reached shakily down for 7's form, sprawled crying over 9's dead body. _10, come on! _I pulled her off and positioned her in front of myself. As her soul was sucked out, I laughed again, but screamed at the same time.

"10, wake up!"

I bolted up right, still screaming, then I realized that it was only a yawn. My heart was pounding in my chest. I looked down at 9.

"10, what's wrong?" he asked. "You were shaking in your sleep, and kept on mouthing 'no', and you were squeezing my hand so hard, I thought it was going to fall off!"

I looked at my hand, which was still tightly clutching his. I dropped it, and tried to lay back down in my sleeping bag. The horrible image of 9's lifeless form still haunted me every time I closed my eyes. I propped up my head and looked at him. He'd slipped into his sleeping bag again. Before I realized what I was doing, I'd slid over and wrapped my arms around him. As tears sprung from my eyes, I held myself closely to 9. I could tell that he wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he gently smoothed back my hair. Once we'd broken apart, between sobs, I relived my whole nightmare to him.

Eventually, after I'd finished my story, I somehow fell asleep again. When I awoke, the first greys of dawn were appearing in the blue black sky. I wandered over to 13, who was sitting watch in one of the windows. I hopped up beside her.

"Hey, 13," I quietly greeted.

She jumped back in surprise. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were up."

"Those sleeping bags you made us were really awesome," I complimented.

She sighed. "That used to be the sort of thing 14 would say. Even though I pretend to be big and brave for 11, I still feel like I need an adult or a mother, like, someone to keep me straight. Without Mum or 14, you're the closest thing I have."

After slight hesitation, I asked, "13, do you think anyone blames me for awakening that Machine?"

"Of course not," 13 cried, then quietly continued, "No one blames you. It was just a mistake. I'm sure it's ok."

I looked down at 9, who was still sleeping in his bag. "I-I think I love him, 13," I whispered. When she didn't respond, I asked, "13?"

13 was staring off at something in the hall. I followed her gaze until my eyes fell on Odessa. Her lips were moving quickly, and her hand grasped for something, then fell limp. I crept down until I was sitting beside her. Reading her lips, I was able to make out a few words.

_…Locker 26…_

_…Room 111…_

__…_ Ms. Short_…_  
><em>

_…Dance Floor…_

I considered shaking her awake, but changed my mind. I didn't want to disturb her. I guessed that she was lost in her memories. Sometimes, I woke up feeling s if I'd just remembered something, but it was stuck at the back of my mind. Perhaps she would remember what plain sight meant.

I slipped back over to 13. "I think it's just nonsense," I whispered, then yawned. "I might be able to get a little more sleep tonight. Will you be alright on guard by yourself?"

"Uh… sure," she said. "I was already going to."

"If you ever need a break, just come and wake me," I assured her. "Don't worry. You don't need to be an adult yet."

As I crept back into my sleeping bag, I slid closer to 9. Once our bags were touching, I laced my fingers between his. The feeling of his warm hand grasped in mine comforted me, and slowly lulled me back to sleep, as the world faded to blackness.

* * *

><p>"T-That's it…" she muttered. "That's<em> it<em>!" Then, even louder, "THAT'S IT!"

By then, she or the sunlight pouring in the shattered holes that used to be windows awakened all of us. Odessa's screaming woke herself up. She flew up, panting, and clutching her chest.

"What… What were you dreaming, Odessa?" I asked.

"I-I_…_ I don't remember!" she exclaimed, running her hand frustratedly through her hair. "I think I was at a… a dance."

"Yes, and did you remember anything else from your dream?" I continued.

She shook her head. "No, I—_wait_…" She scrambled over the unoccupied sleeping bags and stood in front of the beige wall of lockers. She walked down slowly beside it, letting her hand touch each one. About halfway down, she stopped at a locker. "This one was mine," she fondly said. Now, after climbing up onto a pile of debris, she could reach the lock. Her fingers wheeled expertly, and after a series of three twists, she gave a powerful tug and the lock popped open. She smiled to herself as she pulled open her locker.

Yawning, I sat back down on my sleeping bag. Unfortunately, I'd been still asleep when she'd yelled. Now, I seemed to be more exhausted than the previous night when I fell asleep. I was beginning to think that something was wrong with my rest cycles. If so, that would explain why I was so darn tired all the time!

The twins rushed over to help her scatter the debris that was keeping her locker shut. Eventually, they pried it open and inside, there wasn't much. Two textbooks lay on the ground, and a red notebook. Her jacket also hung from the roof. Magnetically stuck to the door of her locker was a small circular mirror. She fondly rooted through her belongings, until she finally just sat down on the textbooks. The twins playfully shoved her off, and pulled over the books. One said: _Math: Focus on Understanding_ and the other read _Science & Technology_.

The twins began to flip through the pages, 11 reading along over their shoulders. Odessa continued rooting through her locker, and 13 hopped over to help her. 15 and 7 fondly exchanged glances as 9 and I walked hand-in-hand along the row of lockers.

"Here it is!" Odessa exclaimed. She pulled out a hulking book entitled _'Annuls of Peracelsus'_. "This is where I read it all… I think."

The twins instantly recognized the book, and opened it. As the shuffled through the pages, 7 walked over to them. "Is this the same one as in the library?" she asked.

3 nodded while 4 pulled it open to a page. It was the same one as before, the two pages, one, featuring the Talisman, the other, featuring a person in front of a stitchpunk.

"That's it!" Odessa exclaimed. "That's where I read it!"

7 squinted at the foreign language scrawled on the page. "You can understand this?" she asked.

Odessa nodded her head. "When I was human, I studied it. Turns out it's some sub-language based greatly on Latin."

"Can you still read it?" 7 asked.

Odessa squinted. "Uh… no. Sorry!" She scratched her head. "It's… it's terrible… I mean, I only remember half the things about my life! I don't... feel like myself anymore."

7 groaned angrily. "She's just another useless extension to our group. She's no brainiac, she's just an ordinary stitchpunk. She's not Odessa anymore, just a fragment of her soul!"

Odessa looked down at herself. "You're right. I'm not Odessa. Odessa's the dead girl, down stairs in the Health room. I'm just a piece of her soul." She set her jaw. "And I'll _never_ be Odessa."

"Well, you need some sort of name," 15 stated. "Go ahead. Choose a number."

Odessa smiled. "26. It was my—_her_ old locker number."

"Well then, 26," I smiled. "Do you have any idea what Odessa meant by _'plain sight_'?"

"I—_she_ loved words," 26 said, scratching her head.

"And what about the dance floor?" I probed. "You've mentioned that a lot."

"The school's dances used to be held in the gym, but not since the war started, because…" She trailed off as her face lit up. "I think I know!"

As she scuttled off down the hall, I exchanged glances with 9. "Do you think she really knows?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I guess. It's up to her to know. I'm glad that 26 chose her number. Somehow, I always felt that she wasn't going to be Odessa."

"Come on!" 13 cried, motioning for us to come closer. "Ode— I mean, 26 thinks she's got it!"

I smiled at 9 as we followed along. "It seems that someone has a new best friend," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth.

26 was waiting for us down at the doors to the gym. As she pushed it open, I begin to see what she meant.

Crashed in the middle of the gym, was a plane. _In plain sight!_ That was it! When she said plain, she must've meant the plane!

13 and 26 both clambered their way over the rubble and up to the plane. When they were up standing up by windshield, 26 followed the plane's sights. They were angled right towards a huge crack in the wall that lead to outside. Running through the crack, the two teen stitchpunks sprinted out into the courtyard that the crack lead to. But, unfortunately, the courtyard was empty.

"What?" 26 exclaimed. "I was so sure! How can this be?"

In anger, 13 kicked a stray stone that had been sitting on the ground. It went flying. Underneath, there was a small patch of chrome-like metal revealed. "26, look at this!" 13 cried, scraping away at the dirt. As 26 bent down and helped 13 pried the chrome out of the ground, it became clear that they'd found the Talisman of Pure Good. It was made of chrome, and covered in pure white markings.

"The Soul of Pure Good…" 26 whispered. "Something strong enough to defeat the Fabrication Machine…" Looking 13 straight in the eye, she continued, "For it to function properly, it must have a body. A new one must be formed."

"Ok," 13 shrugged.

As they walked back in, 9 and I had only reached the crack. "You found it?" I asked, stunned at their discovery.

"Yes, but it needs a body," 26 stated. "I'll get to work first thing in the AM."

"Uh… it is the morning," 9 pointed out.

"Oh, yes," 26 said quite absentmindedly. "We should get started now, then."


	13. It Knows

_**Chapter 13–It Knows  
><strong>_

We decided to make The Soul a small body, like that of 11, who was even slightly smaller that the twins. Even though it would seem like a child to us, 26 insisted on it's innocence bring mandatory. So, we made a small, white canvas body with a tuft of black fuzz on top. Luckily, 26 recalled there being a science lab on the third floor. When we got up there, the lap was pack with supplies. One cabinet was even packed with electrical parts, perfect for creating a new stitchpunk. In another cabinet, there were boxes filled with magnets, candles, batteries and anything else we could possibly need. Still not quite believing our luck, we were a bit cautions. We made sure that we took only what we needed.

With 26's instruction, we were able to complete a working body for the Soul by midday. When we finally hooked up the White Talisman into the small body's chest, the sun was beating through the windows. Just as 9 released The Soul into the small white body, a ray of sunlight struck it directly where it's heart would've been. The small white stitchpunk's optics opened, and it drowsily lifted itself of the table. "Where… where am I?" he asked, confused. "Who am I?"

"I think we should call him Thesso," 26 smiled fondly down at the little white stitchpunk. He scrambled over and instantly hugged on to 26's arm.

"Why Thesso?" 15 asked.

"It just sort of… came to me," 26 smiled, ruffling her hand through his patch of hair. "I condensed 'The Soul' into 'Thesso'."

"It suits him," 13 smiled. Thesso stared innocently up at them. They both sighed dramatically.

I rolled my eyes. "Teenagers. They always fall for the little kids."

The little white stitchpunk snuggled his way into 26's arm. He beamed up at her. She held him closely.

11 wandered over and gave him a little wave. "Hi," she quietly said. "I'm 11, and we can be friends!"

His little eyes opened even wider. "Really?"

11 grinned and grabbed his hand. "Come on!" she cried, pulling him away. "The twins found a book for us to read!"

Thesso's face lit up. "A book?" he asked, awestruck. "We can see a book?"

"Yeah," 11 smiled. "There's a library here, and it's full of books!"

"The library's on the second floor," 7 said, looking worried. "It's sort of dangerous up there. I mean, there's the hole in the middle of the hall where I fel through. We don't want The Soul geting hurt."

"Thesso," 26 corrected. "And he's indestructible. Odessa knew that the world after the entire human population was dead would still be dangerous, so she made the Soul very powerful."

"O…kay," 15 slowly said. "I still don't understand how she could make a soul indestructible…"

"Don't forget, Odessa had accomplished what the Scientist had in his whole life in six years," 26 stated. "She was really brilliant; her intelligence was legendary! But, since she was a child, no one would believe her." She sighed. "Even if I'm not Odessa, I still feel her pain. She was always doubted on; no one ever liked her. So, she devoted her life to science."

I climbed the crumbling stairs, trying to follow the four younger stitchpunks, who'd rushed ahead. Halfway up the stair case, I suddenly felt a strange pounding in my head. _Thump… thump… thump… _My head began to feel very fogged; all I could hear was the thumping. _Thump… thump… thump… _I couldn't tell what it was, but something was pounding like crazy. Pressing my hand to my temples, my head pounded even harder. _Thump… thump… thump… _It felt like my head was about to burst.

_10? _

I couldn't focus; my vision blurred, my hearing became muffled. _Thump… thump… thump… _It was coming, I could tell, but I didn't know how. _Thump… thump… thump… _

_10, what is it?_

The thumping was louder now. My heart pounded along with it. _Thump–thump–thump. _Now, the pain was excruciating. Just as I was about to fall unconscious, I noticed something shaking me.

"10!"

Suddenly, the thumping receded, and my vision returned to normal. I saw that I'd fallen to the ground, and 9 was standing over me. "What happened?" he asked.

"It… there was pounding…" I quietly said, then pointed to my head. "In here."

"Maybe you should head back to camp," he suggested, gently guiding me forward.

"What about 11?" I asked.

"13 and 26 followed them up," 9 calmly said. "Don't worry, you've just got to sit down for a minute."

"Yes… yes," I said slowly. The thumping was gone now; it seemed like it had never happened.

As 9 and I sat down on my balled up sleeping bag, he asked, "What really happened back there?"

At first, I hesitated to tell him. I didn't want him to think me crazy, or anything. But, then again, I didn't want to keep any secrets from him. I explained it all, the pounding, the mysterious way I knew _something_ was coming. After, I looked back up at him. The whole time, he'd just been staring off into space, gently rubbing my back.

"9?" I asked. "What is it?"

He sighed and looked down. "Well, the whole way you knew what was going to happen sound awfully familiar…" He looked back up at me. "Just like 6. And 12."

"But their predictions came true," I pointed out. "All I got was a pounding head and knowing that _'it was coming'_."

9 was staring gravely at me. "12 always referred to the Fabrication Machine as _'it'_. What do you think?"

"I… I don't know," I stuttered, putting my head in my hands. "It could have been… I guess…"

"We should move on," 9 quietly stated. "If that was a telling of the future, we're all in danger."

"But… don't we _want_ the Fabrication Machine to come?" I asked. "You know, so it can absorb Thesso and all?"

9 shrugged. "I'm not sure. I just don't want anyone else dying accidentally. I've already seen too many of my friends die. I don't want to lose you."

Hearing him say that made me smile. For once, someone cared about me. I mean, Mum had always watched out for me, but now, 9 was all that I had. I leaned up against him as the sun shone in through a window. He wrapped an arm around me. Again, I felt completely safe, even though I knew that there were a million things out there that could kill me in a second. Leaving the idea behind, I snuggled in close to 9, tucking my feet up onto the sleeping bag as well.

Suddenly, the thumping in my head began again. Slowly at first, then getting louder and louder. As my head pounded, I simply uttered, "It knows."

Not a second after I'd finished speaking, something metallic flew through the window hole. As it opened it's wings, it let out a robotic cry. Three beady red eyes blinked at 9 and I, who were still sitting.

As the creature sat back on it's haunches, I received a clearer view of it. A body looking slightly like a Cat Beast's, but with a metal skull, now had wings fused on, and three glowing eyes. It's front paws were metal claws, and it's back ones were shovel like. It was clear that this creature could dig. It's back was covered with knifes that stuck out at every angle. It's wings were made from what I recognized had once been an umbrella. Now, it cocked it's skull at us.

"Don't move," 9 whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

Before anything else could happen, the ceiling began to rumble. Small pieces of it fell to the ground, shattering around this Winged-Cat Beast. It raised it's head in confusion, and only had a moment to think before the entire ceiling collapsed onto it. 7 and 15, who'd been standing on the other side of the Beast, now clambered their way through the cloud of dust.

"I told you it was unstable!" 7 cried.

Suddenly, a sound filled the air. A tinkling, bell-like sound. It almost sounded like… _a child laughing?_

As the dust cleared, we saw Thesso, 11, 13, 26 and the twins all standing on one secure piece of the ceiling that had fallen down. Thesso was laughing and clapping his hands. "Can we go again?" he asked.

The two teen stitchpunks were looking extremely frazzled. They obviously hadn't enjoyed the ceiling's collapse. 26 ran over to Thesso, and carefully checked him over. "Are you ok?" she asked.

He smiled up at her. "I'm fine." After she'd sighed, he continued, "You have rubble in your hair."

26 chuckled as she bent down to let him pick the small stone fragments from her braid. The twins rushed off to discuss the collapse while 11 made her way over to 9 and me.

"Thesso made that happen," she quietly said to me, grabbing onto my arm. "He told me that we were going to go for a ride, but I didn't know that be meant the ceiling was going to fall in."

"Well, there was a Beast," I proudly said. "But, it was crushed by that ceiling. If he _did_ have any influence on the collapse, I should thank him."

"A Beast?" 11 asked, her optics widening. "Like Skittles?" Her gaze wandered to the entrance, where Skittles had last been seen. Every day, she vanished out the door to do some unknown work.

"Uh… sort of," I replied.

9 stepped forward. "It was a combination of two earlier Beasts. It was sort of a Winged-Cat Beast."

"Cool!" 11 exclaimed, then rushed off to tell Thesso about it.

9 looked back to me, his eyes now serious. "If that Beast could find us, it's only a matter of time before the Fabrication Machine sends another. I'm sure. I've seen it before. It might even be watching us now. We should move on."

15, who'd been listening to our conversation, now inserted, "I know another place. That pool that I stayed at–it's not too far from here. We can head up there."

"How far's not too far?" 9 asked.

"About a day's walk," 15 answered. "If we left now, we'll be there by midnight."

"It's not safe to wander at night," 7 said, coming up from behind 15. "That's how I got this." She turned to show the red patch on her back that partially covered her '_7'_.

"I thought that was from a Cat Beast," I said.

She shot me an angry glance. I remember that I wasn't supposed to mention her journal in front of anyone. "_That_ was at night," she huffed.

"Well," 9 began, "With all the lights, it won't ever be truly dark."

"Um… if by 'all the lights', you mean your light staff and a few candles, then we don't have much," I pointed out.

"We _are_ in a school," 7 stated. "I'm sure that there must be some light bulbs around here some where. And we have the batteries from the Science Lab."

I glared at her as she smugly smiled. Why did she enjoy being such a thorn in my side! It couldn't have been jealousy since she had 15 now. As that thought crossed my mind, I realized that I hadn't seen them together since that night back at the library. It seemed rude to intrude, but I had to know. Just as I was about to ask 7, 15 exclaimed, "We should move on now! More beasts are on their way! I've been stalked by them long enough to know that they never give up."

Sighing, I helped roll up the remaining sleeping bags. 15 stuck two finger in his mouth and whistled, and Skittles came running through the doorway. He secured most of our supplies onto her back, leaving just enough room for him and a few others to ride.

"Can I ride on Skittles?" 11 asked. "Thesso wants to ride too!"

15 chuckled as he helped the two littlest stitchpunks up into the Cat Beast's back. 26 and 13 climbed on as well, leaving only 7, 9, 15, the twins and I on the ground.

The twins quickly exchanged glances, then 4 stepped forward and projected an image of the library onto a beige locker. "You want to go back?" 7 asked, instantly understanding. Both of the twins nodded. "But what about the Fabrication Machine?" The looked at each other, shrugged, and pointed to the image of the library again.

"They _did _survive there on their own without 1," 9 pointed out. "Plus, if the Fabrication Machine's looking for souls, it'll want us, 'cause were in a bigger pack. I'm sure they'll be fine."

7 smiled as she hugged the twins. "I'm gonna miss you guys," she told them. "But, you'll always know where to find us." The twins smiled up at her, then scuttled off in the direction of the library.

Once we'd set out, the journey was quite quick. The three other adults and I ran alongside the Cat Beast as we made our way up a ruined street. We passed gutted buildings, but luckily we only saw a few bodies. As the sun began to set, we divided to find a place to shelter for the night. We chose an abandoned grocery store, who's shelves were still half full of merchandise. In the middle of an aisle, we rolled out the sleeping bags.

Once we were all settled, I asked 15, "How d'you travel so fast before?"

"I was riding on Skittles," he shrugged. "She can go pretty fast."

I nodded slowly, still rolling out my sleeping bag. Just as I was climbing in, I realized that there was a draft coming in the bag. Upon further inspection, I found out that one of the seams in my sleeping bag was beginning to rip. I knew I could ask 13 to sew it up, but I didn't want to waste any of our medical supplies. I ditched the sleeping bag and climbed into 9's. At first, he blushed a little and scooted as far as he could get from me in the sleeping bag. Eventually, as drowsiness began to take control of me, I felt 9 slide closer to me. Feeling his warmth beside me comforted me, and I was soon lulled to sleep, without even noticing that my hand had found it's way into his.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok then! That chapter was longer than I expected. The only problem was, I feel that I made some mistakes. **

**First of all, Skittles hasn't been in any of the chapters for the longest time, but her little 'adventures' will make up for most of that. And the twins weren't playing a big enough roll, so I sent them back to the Library. Sorry, all you twin fans, I just couldn't have two extra characters wandering about.**

**And the whole Thesso thing just happened by accident. Originally, his name was going to be an acronym for 'The Soul of Pure Good' but, I though that Thesso sounded a bit better that TSoPG. **

**I think that this chapter marks the end of all possible 9x7 events. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just not this story. I already have an idea for _another _story, revolving completely around 9x7, so I hope it'll repay any surly fans out there. **

**Anyway, don't forget to leave a review! Come on, it's not that hard! Just press the button!**

**V  
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	14. The Lizard at the Pool

**A/N: Yes! Yes! Oh, yes! After this, only three chapters left! I think I might actually finish this story_. _It's way longer that I anticipated, and I'm so pleased how it turned out_. _And there are so many reviewers and readers, too! I was looking at my Traffic Stats, and I have hits from around the world! Hello, international viewers! Also, I'd like to thank MissRandomGal for reading and reviewing my story. Your comments are everything, people!**

**AS an added bonus (since the next few chapters are going to be short) I made this one super long!  
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**Anyway, on with the chapter!  
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><p><em><strong>Chapter 14 – The Lizard at the Pool<br>**_

Something, I wasn't quite sure what, shook me out of my rest cycle. I rolled over in the sleeping bag, only to find myself face to face with 9. He was still asleep, looking quite peaceful. I slowly climbed out of the sleeping bag, careful not to disturb him. From previous experience, I knew that he sometimes woke up from nightmares that he couldn't seem to escape, so I decided to let him sleep in a bit.

I looked around the grocery store, taking in everything in the aisle. There wasn't much left on the shelves; just some mismatched food items. A few canned vegetables. Dried beats. Baked beans. Two bottles of water. I continued on my way, and once I'd gotten to the end of the aisle, I looked for a window. I don't know why, but I always felt that I had to find a good high window that I could see out of. I spotted one, up above a few cash registers. Slowly, watching every step, I climbed up towards it. THere was a gap between the edge of the registers and the indentation in the wall where the window sat. Still careful not to make any noise, I summoned up my courage–and leapt.

I nearly didn't make it, but my fingers caught the lip at the end of the wall just in time. I pulled myself up, then sat against the wall, facing sideways so I could see out.

It looked miserable.

Dark, dreary, and all-around boring. The sky was dark grey; the sun hadn't even begun to rise. And everything else was just black silhouettes on the sky, or not visible at all. I was pretty sure tht there was a faint red glow in the distance, redder that the sun. I knew it had to be only one thing.

The Fabrication Machine.

A wave of guiltiness suddenly washed over me as the Machine came into my mind. _14, and 12... _I thought, looking at the red glow. _They're both dead now because of me. And if I hadn't been so... stupid, my extra piece wouldn't have been found out there, and 12 would still be alive._ And then I thought back to yesterday, with that Flying Cat Beast. Somehow, I could tell that it had focused it's attentions on me_. Maybe I'm the one drawing these Machines to us, _I wondered. I hung my head a little bit, feeling ever guiltier.

A sound from the camp suddenly reached my auditory sensors. I felt a chill go up my spine.

It was screaming.

I jumped back to the cash register, and then onto the ground. Even though I stumbled a bit as I hit the ground, I continued to run. I'd recognize that scream anywhere.

When I reached the camp, I immediately fell to my knees next to 9's sleeping bag. He was violently thrashing back and forth, choking out, "No... wait–stop! STOP! No, no, no, no, no..." I gently shook him, knowing that he was having another nightmare. "No... take me! Me instead Wait! Why? I know, just take me!" I could tell that this nightmare was worse than usual, for most of the time, he only lashed out in his sleep.

"9–9," I shook him, trying to calm him. "It's alright, just come on back. Just a dream, just a dream." Remembering what I used to do to 11 whenever she had nightmares, I forced him into a sitting position and placed his head on my shoulder. His eyes popped open and he shakily took a breath, his entire body heaving with sobs.

"T-10?" he whispered, as if he couldn't believe it was me."It was... it was terrible." He buried his face in the fabric of my shoulder. This was a side of him I rarely saw.

Do you want to talk about it?" I quietly asked. He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, until his body succumbed to more sobs. I suddenly got the feeling that we were being watched. I turned my head just enough to see 7, watching us with a solemn expression on.

She made her way over to us, and bent down. "I haven't seen him like this for a while," she quietly stated.

He raised his head just a bit , enough to get a clear look at her, before exclaiming, "7!" He feverishly extended a hand and placed it on her moved slowly, almost as if he was worried that if he moved to fast, she would vanish. "D-do you remember?"

She slowly shook her head. "No. Go ahead, remind me."

"Ok," he sighed. "In my... dream, they were all back. Every single one of them. And 10 was there too. We were happy, and then the Fabrication Machine returned. It killed everyone, one-by-one, and made me watch the whole thing. 7, you and 10 were the last to go. The Fabrication Machine had already killed everyone else, even the twins. And then, it killed both of you." He seemed to feel a little better now that he'd gotten his dream out.

"Are you ready to move on?" I slowly asked him. He nodded, and without thinking, I bent in and kissed his forehead.

Standing again, I decided it was about time to wake the others. "Wakey wakey," I cried. "Rise and shine, everybody! We can't waste any more time here!"

26 groaned and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. "Ten more minutes," she muttered.

Within seconds, 15 was awake, shaking the two youngest stitchpunks to wake them up. "Come one, you guys," he said, placing one hand on each of their shoulders. "We've got to get to the pool by tonight."

11 propped her head up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Wha?" she asked, still bleary from sleep.

"We're heading up to the pool now," 15 said, gently shaking Thesso awake. "We need to go now. It's not safe to stay in one place for more than a little while."

11's eyes widened. "Whoa! You're right. Come on, Thesso, let's go." She pulled him up and out of his sleeping bag. The Cat Beast nudged him awake, gently pushing him forward with her muzzle. We quickly loaded all the supplies and smaller stitchpunks onto her back, then set out again. We hiked up a small hill, which took us a few hours to get to the top of. Once we'd reached the top, 15 pointed to a building in the distance. "That's the pool," he said, pointing to the building.

It mainly consisted of holes that had once been windows, but the remains of a yellow tube stuck out one side. It was quite a large building, big enough to hide us well. 7 smiled. "This should be good."

We made our way down the hill and towards the pool. Inside, the walls were still mostly intact, and we quickly found a small room with wooden floors that we decided to make our main camp. After we'd loaded the supplies off of the Cat Beast, 11 and Thesso decided that they wanted to explore. 26 and 13 agreed to go along, but I decided to follow as well. They made their way to the pool deck, where there were three indentations in the floor that had once been pools. In the far left corner, there was a winding staircase that was collapsing about halfway up, but at the top, there was a small platform that lead to a blue slide and a yellow slide, the same one that lead outside. The two littlest stitchpunks ran over to the smallest of the three pools, which had collected some rainwater from the past two weeks.

"Be careful," 13 cried after them. "You remember what happened when 7 fell in that river!"

Thesso looked at 11. "What happened?"

"She fell in, and almost drowned!" 11 exclaimed. "It was _really_ scary!"

"I can swim!" Thesso exclaimed, jumping into the partially filled pool. 11 jumped in after him, and they both paddled around the surface of the pool. 13 and 26 smiled as they let their legs dangle into the water as well. I smiled. It'd been a while since I'd seen 13 so happy. Before, she'd always been busy helping take care of 11 and 12, but now, she and 26 appeared to be very calm.

The sun streamed in through one of the broken windows, tinting the sky red and purple in the sunset. I sat down on a small piece of rubble as I watched the younger stitchpunks swimming. All of a sudden, I noticed that something was casting a shadow on the floor. Squinting up at the sun, I noticed something in the distance. It looked just like a small black speck in front of the sun, but as it got closer, it became clearer.

"Guys…" I quietly said, then yelled, "Guys! Let's go!"

13 and 26 grabbed the two younger stitchpunks and pulled them along beside them. We began to flee back to camp, but the Beast was flying faster. It let out an ear-piercing screech, and shot through one of the window holes. It landed in front of us, blocking our exit.

"Dang it," I hissed through my gritted teeth.

I could tell it was made to be similar to what humans called a lizard. It's entire body was covered with a leathery material that stretched out in a frill around it's neck. It had four legs, each ending in serrated knifes. Two huge leathery wings had folded up on it's back. It's head had two red eyes and a relatively long snout, and when it opened it's mouth, I could see needles in place of it's teeth. But what it did next shocked me even more.

_Where is the one called 10?_ it said very robotically. Its way of speaking was odd, not like anything I'd ever heard before.

Looking shocked, 13 whispered, "Have those Beasts ever spoken before?" We all shrugged.

_Where is the one called 10?_ the Beast repeated. _The one called 10 must be sacrificed._

"What do you mean?" 26 asked it, stepping forward, Thesso clinging to her leg.

_The Master Machine is in search of the one called 10,_ the Beast stated.

"But why?" 26 probed.

The Beast paused for a second, then replied, _That is classified._

"Why? Why's it classified?" she asked.

_It is classified for your mental and physical safety,_ the Beast stated again.

"What do you mean?" 26 continued. "Mental safety? How does that make any sense?"

_The Master Machine needs you alive,_ the Beast answered.

"So, telling us why you need 10 will kill us?" 26 smirked.

Small sparks erupted on the Beast's face and neck, showing it's frustration. _No. The Master Machine needs the one called 10 because it is… incomplete._

"Incomplete? What does that mean?"

The Beast didn't answer. 26 turned back to us, and whispered, "I think it means that the Fabrication Machine needs 10's soul, because it's not working right without her."

"We should send it off with Thesso," I suggested, for I had no intention of dying that day. "He was created to be given to the Machine, right? So, why don't we end this all now and say that he's 10?"

26 bit her lip. "Er… I guess you're right, but I don't think we should send him off now. I mean, like, he's barely had a chance to live!"

"Come on, 26," I said. "It's now or never. I know you care about him—we all do—but he was made to be killed. I'm sorry, but we have to let him go."

13 shook her head. "I'm sorry, 10, but I have to disagree. I think that 26 is right."

I narrowed my eyes. "You care for him, too! I know, there's no use denying it. But you have to give him up. If you love something, set it free."

As the two teens pouted, I grabbed Thesso by the wrist. "I'm so sorry, but I have to do this."

He smiled at me. "You're forgiven."

I pulled him up in front of the Beast. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, 26 ran up from behind and tugged on Thesso's other arm. "I'm not letting you do this!" she hissed, pulling his arm.

I tugged on his other arm harder, pulling him out of 26's grasp. Holding him in the air, I bowed my head and told the Beast, "This is the one known as 10!"

Thesso smiled at the Beast. He pointed at it. "Beast is funny!"

The Beast took Thesso from my out stretched arms. He examined the small white stitchpunk for a second, then dropped him. _This is not the one called 10._

Thesso hit the ground with a thud, and began to cry. 26 rushed over to comfort him, but I stopped her. "What do you mean '_he's not the one called 10_'?"

_He is not the one called 10_. the Beast repeated.

"Yeah he is," I insisted.

_You take me for a fool. Now, you will all pay._.. The Beast launched itself at me, it's two front claws extended towards me. One claw hit me in my left leg, and the other hit me in my left arm, pinning me down. As I struggled to break free, 13 appeared with her spear and neatly sliced off the Beast's two claws. It screeched, then bared it's teeth at 13. She smiled teasingly, then launched her spear at one of it's red eyes. The shattering sound of the impact echoed around the deserted pool. As the Beast clawed at it's smashed eye, I grabbed 11 and dragged her out of the pool area. 26 followed, pulling Thesso, then 13 slid in, carrying her spear. Without making a sound, she pointed back to our base. 26 and I both nodded, then followed along, carrying the two crying stitchpunks.

When we got back, the others were shocked at our appearance. My left arm and leg were still split open, the two youngest ones were crying and the teens had sopping wet legs from their knees down.

"What happened?" 9 asked.

"There was a Beast," I told him, recalling the image of it. "It had a green leathery fabric covering it, and it had four legs, and two wings. Oh, and it spoke English. It said that the Fabrication Machine was incomplete without my piece of soul. We tried to give it Thesso, saying that he was me, but it recognized that he wasn't me, so it ditched him. 13 smashed off one of it's eyes, but it might still be on the pool deck."

7's eyes narrowed. "You should never wander around without weapons. You never know what you might run into."

I rolled my eyes and set down 11, who was wailing. I gently shushed her, stroking back her hair. "It ok," I quietly said, encasing her in my arms, letting her head lean onto my chest. "The Beast's gone. He can't hurt you our Thesso now."

She looked up, her eyes still wet. "You—you were going to give him to that…that _thing_!" She let her head droop again and continued to sob. "I thought—you liked him!"

"Oh, I do," I said, rubbing her back. "Its just… the Fabrication Machine needs to absorb him. It's the only way for us to stay safe."

"But what if—the Fabrica—tion Machine had—to kill me?" she moaned, hiccuping between words. "Would you–give me up?"

I knew that I never would, not in a million years, but if I told her that, she would be sure that I disliked Thesso. Instead, I lifted her head, forcing her to look me in the eye. "I need you to be brave," I told her, brushing one of her stray hairs back into her pigtail. "Just know, I'll always be there to protect you." I kissed her on the forehead, then left her sitting on the rolled up sleeping bag.

I walked over to Thesso, who both 13 and 26 were trying to comfort. I gently pushed them aside, then squatted down next to Thesso. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"She… she _hurt_ it!" he cried, burying his head in his hands. "I can't believe that 13… hit that _poor_ lizard right in the eye with her spear! There didn't need to be fighting!"

"It's all over now," I gently told him. "She didn't mean to hurt it, she was just… er, _distracting_ it."

"So, it didn't hurt a lot?" he asked, raising his head a tiny bit.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "No, I'm sure it's fine."

He smiled a little bit. "Oh. That's good. I don't want anyone hurt."

I tousled his hair. "That's a good policy. Violence is never the answer."

I stood up, and realized that all the other stitchpunks were staring at me. "You just stopped them both from crying," 15 stated in shock. "In... like, 30 seconds."

"Yeah, I know," I said, shrugging. "I just… you know, comforted them. I somehow just know exactly what to say."

"You're way better than 14 ever was," 13 stated. "She could never get 11 to stop crying."

"You sure have a way with kids," 9 smiled, sliding over to me.

"Well, 11's like my sister," I grinned back. "We're all like a family. At least, 11, 13 and I. I'm not so sure about you, 15. I mean, no offense or anything, but I didn't get to know you until after you saved 7."

He shrugged. "I'm fine with being a loner."

"Well, what about Thesso?" 9 pushed. "He's not your brother."

"There's something about him that makes me care for him," I smiled down at him. "I'm not sure what."

"Whatever it is, it's good," 26 said. "Odessa needed the soul to be in a sweet body, something that fit his nature. I think Thesso's perfect."

"And I think you're bewitched by him," I stated. "Back there, you didn't want to give him up. It's not safe."

"I'm sorry," she said, retreating a little. "I'll try to do better next time."

I looked over at 9. His expression was grave, but he had a certain sparkle in his optics that told me that he was always alert. Suddenly, he noticed the ripping on my arm and leg.

He pushed me over to 13. "You should get fixed up," he told me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I probably should."

As I made my way over to 13, a soft rumble in the distance told us that we were not alone. Suddenly, the Lizard Beat burst through the wall, sending small bits of rock tumbling towards us. 9 instantly snapped into battle mode, grabbing his light staff and taking his place in front of the two youngest stitchpunks. The Beast let out a screech, followed by,_ Must find the one called 10!_

9 positioned himself in front of me. "You'll have to go through me first."

"No, 9," I told him, shoving my way aside. In that one instant, I changed my mind. And I changed it so fast that I wasn't even quite sure of what I was doing. "They need you. Let the Beast take me. It'll leave you guys alone. It wouldn't matter if I go. That way, Thesso can stay"

He stared at me for a second, then I cupped his head in my hands and kissed him. I felt something latch itself around my middle. Thinking it was 9's arms, I hugged him as well. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that it wasn't 9, but the Lizard Beast that had wrapped it's claws around me. As it began to lift me up, I noticed the anger swelling up behind 9's eyes.

"I'll teach you to steal my girl," he hissed, then bashed away at the claw with his light staff, forcing the claw to snap, sending me plummeting to the ground.

"Thanks," I muttered, then took a defensive position in front of the two youngest ones. Now, without my extra piece, I couldn't fight. As the Beast shot it's front claw at me, it became clear that it was targeting me. It impaled me in the chest, 9 let out a cry of fear. "No!"

He froze as the Beast opened it's huge wings and prepared to take flight. I struggled to escape, but he Beast had it's heart set on getting me to the Machine.

7's spear struck the Beast's left wing, striking through it's fabric. 15 launched his spear, which hit the Beast in the face. 13 leapt into the air, and came down on the Beast's claw that was holding me. Using her spear like a crowbar, she ripped one of it's claws off. I shoved myself away from it and tumbled to the ground again. I fell back and wrapped my arms around the two littlest stitchpunks, curling them into my chest so that they wouldn't have to see what I knew was coming. 9 had been snapped out of his trance, and brandished his light staff at the Beast's face. The bright light caused it to jump back, where 7 was waiting. She launched herself into the air and landed on the back of the Lizard Beast's head. It shook it's head, trying to throw her off. She used it's motion to launch herself into the air. She did a neat flip, then brought her spear down on it's head, chopping it clean off. It fell to the ground, stone dead.

Panting, 7 glared at 9. "What... was _that_?" she demanded.

"I—I don't know," he stuttered. "It's just… when I saw that the Beast had 10, I sort of… er, _froze_?"

"Yes. You did. And that Beast almost got her!" 7 let out an exasperated sigh. "No more romance. It's not safe."

My jaw fell open. "What? But I—"

"No romance," 7 plainly stated, then picked up her spear and marched away.

9 pulled me back. "She's right," he quietly told me. "That Beast almost got you today. I don't want to lose you. I'll do anything to keep you safe, even if it means ending our relationship."

"I love you, 9," I told him. "But I'm willing to agree to keep you safe."

"When this is all over, we can get back together," 9 told me.

"Yeah, yeah. I'd like that," I nodded.

"Ok then. So… er, bye?"

"Yeah," I quietly said.

I looked around the room. It felt so weird to be separate from 9. I had no one to hide behind; no one to make me feel safe. I felt vulnerable, more vulnerable than when that Beast had me. Because then, 9 was coming to save me. On the other side of the room, 7 and 15 were breaking up much better than 9 and I had. 15 gave 7 a quick nod, then they were done. I sighed. Relationships were not fun.

But even as I thought about it, something came back to me. A poem I'd once found on the ground. It had been labelled _9's poem, _and it was still fresh in my memory.

_You're the one who'll save us all,_

_Within danger, you stand tall._

_But when the Beast attacks you one_

_Then your courage shall be done._

That had been one of 12's poems. Had it just come true? Or was I just loosing my mind?


	15. The Machine

**A/N: Ok then! It's so close to the end, I can't even wait! I've been so excited to write this scene, and it's finally here! Another cliffhanger, that's what I was working on this story. People always told me that my chapter endings were a bit predictable, so I hope I've improved. And, I'm hoping that the cliffhanger-ness of this chapter will get some good reviews. *_Wink wink*_  
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** A little note, I know that this is pretty late to mention it, but I realized that I never brought up Thesso's pronunciation. I always say it like_ Tess-oh_, just because the TH sound at the beginning it a little hard. I guess it's like Thai, or... y'know, something else with TH at the start. **

**And, there's even more explanations in the chapter. I find, whenever 26 is figuring something out, I always think of the 10th Doctor. I don't know why.**

**Well, I better wrap up this Author's Note. It's getting a little long, eh? Enjoy!  
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><p><em><strong>Chapter 15 – The Machine<strong>_

That night, I slept alone. I curled up on the ground with only a scrap of fabric as a sheet. I missed 9's warmth beside me, and I felt lonelier than ever before. Shivering, I wrapped my sheet closer to me. I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep that night. Part of it was from the loneliness, but most of it was fear that another Machine would show up in the night and kill me. I ran one hand along the new stitches on my arm and leg, which 13 had patched up for me after the Lizard Beast had been destroyed.

I got up, wrapping the sheet around my arms like a shawl, then walked over to 13, who was standing watch. Again. Every day, ceaselessly, she'd volunteer to stand guard, event though I was sure she didn't really enjoy the job. "Hey," I quietly said.

She jumped. "Oh," she stuttered. "I thought you were a Beast!"

"No, why would I be a Beast?" I asked, sitting down beside her.

"Then why are you up?" she asked.

I sighed. "I miss 9."

"I know. 7 was pretty mean. I think she just did that because she knows you like 9."

"Well, she broke up with 15 as well," I stated. "And she does have a point. I couldn't ever get 9 of my mind, and now, it's even worse. I miss him so much!"

13 put her hand on my shoulder. "It's ok. Like he said, you can get back together after."

"You overheard that, huh?"

"Uh… yeah. I'm sorry if I was eavesdropping. I didn't mean to. I just wanted to know..."

I shrugged. "It's ok."

"I thought that… you know, you and 9 were going to have some long term relationship," 13 said, looking at her feet.

"I thought so too," I sighed. Only after had I realized what I said. But then again, it _was _true.

"I wish that 7 wouldn't have ruined it so fast. I guess she's sort of right. 9 was… distracted when you two were together."

While 13 was talking, something suddenly muffled it. _Thump… thump… thump… _I put my head in my hand as the thumping began again. "13… something's wrong," I quietly said. _Thump… thump… thump… _Again, I had that feeling. Something was coming, but I didn't know what. When I opened my mouth to speak, the pounding quickened. _Thump-thump-thump _"Something's coming," I choked out, and the effort of speaking made my head throb worse. _THUMPTHUMPTHUMP. _I let my head fall down, and I lay back on the floor. Now that I was horizontal, the pounding subsided. That only lasted for a moment, because three seconds later, the Fabrication Machine burst through the wall.

All of the other stitchpunks were instantly awakened, and we all gathered in front of it. Its one red eye glared wildly down at us. "Give it Thesso!" I cried, trying to push the little white stitchpunk forward. As 26 tried to run forward to grab him, 7 held her back. Shoving Thesso out in front of me, I tried not to look at the Fabrication Machine. It examined Thesso for a moment before knocking him aside.

"Why didn't that work?" I cried. "I thought you said it would absorb him and everything would go back to normal!"

26 scratched her head. "I think that the Fabrication Machine has realized that if it absorbs the pure good soul, it'll die. But, it seems to be… sick. I think that the Lizard Beast was right. That extra piece was part of you at one point, I think it needs your piece of soul to work properly, because… because, because, _because _the soul fragment in the Extra Piece was only powerful enough to power it for the first bit of time! Yes, that's it. Even though it absorbed 12, his soul wasn't… er, what's the word? Compatible. The Talisman sort of rejected it, because it wasn't the same as the one in the extra piece So, it _should _be targeting you."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for that information." I suddenly turned my gaze to the ground, turning over the other piece of info. "So it needs _me_…" I quietly said. "Wait! After it… absorbs me, will it be able to take Thesso?"

26 scratched her head. "I don't know. We could try, but it still might not take Thesso. I mean, from what I can figure out, it won't accept any other souls until it has ay least one full stitchpunk's soul. That extra piece held only a fraction, but if it absorbed the rest of your soul, it might be able to take Thesso. I mean, it still know it'll die if it intakes the Pure Good, but having the two parts of soul reunited will cause a sort of energy outburst. Hopefully, it will be too distracted to notice us feeding it Thesso." "

"Why don't we just disconnect the Talisman like we did before?" 7 suggested. "If it worked once, it should work again."

"Ok," I agreed. "While it's absorbing me, I want you guys to disconnect it."

9's eyes widened. "I don't want you to–" he stopped himself in time. He tried to keep his expression blank, but his eyes told every though in his head. I could tell, he didn't want me to sacrifice myself. But, he kept himself silent.

I looked around at our little group. 11 looked terrified at the thought of me dying. 13 stood next to 26, trying her best to look calm, but I could see worry behind her eyes as well. 7 and 15 looked upset, too, but it was 9 that swayed me the most. His expression nearly killed me. The sadness was so unbearable; I could tell that he wanted to lash out, to shove me back, to take my place. But, at that moment, 7 and I exchanged thoughts. I knew that's she'd stop him and she knew that I wouldn't mind.

So, without a further thought, I ran.

"I'm the one called 10!" I cried up to the Fabrication Machine. It sparked with excitement, then moved it's eye closer down to me. Only then did I realize how huge tit really was. I felt insignificant and puny next to it, but I stood as tall as I possible could. I took a deep breath and stood my ground. As it's eye closed, I saw the green glow coming from below. I heard a scream of _"NO!" _from behind me, but ignored it. I clenched my eyes shut, waiting for the pain to come. I clenched my hands into fists, then it hit me. I remember screaming, I'm not sure whose it was, then it all went black.


	16. Alive Again

**Chapter 16 – Alive Again**

Being dead was not like I'd thought. But of course, I'd never been dead before. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It felt… lonely. And cold. Like I was lying on a stone. Perhaps they'd buried me. All of a sudden, I realized something. If I could think, then maybe I wasn't dead. I opened one eye. I definitely wasn't dead. I slowly lifted my head. I looked around. I was lying on the ground in the street. I sat up and checked myself over. I seemed to be fine. My chest was unzipped, and the extra piece lay beside me.

Looking around, it seemed to be peaceful again. The street was deserted, with only the extra piece and me. I stood up and nearly fell over. I realized that I felt quite dizzy. Funnily, it was just like when I'd first awoken. But now, I knew so much more.

I stood up again, careful not to move too fast. Once I was up, I stumbled over to the extra piece. I examined it for a moment, then slipped it into my chest. I definitely didn't want to leave _that _out lying around after what had just happened.

I looked around again. It seemed to be about midday, but it was overcast, so I couldn't see the sun. I slowly made my way over to the ruins of a building. I noticed a few lights coming from behind it. I slowly poked my head around the corner. I smiled as I saw the six stitchpunks that I knew from before. 11, who'd been lying on the ground and playing with a few small toys that 13 had made for her, now stood up. "10! You're alive!" she cried, running over and hugging me.

I ruffled her hair. "Hey, bud."

The first thing I noted was that Thesso was gone. I felt a small pang of sadness inside me, and I realized that I'd learned to love the little stitchpunk. 13 and 26 were working on some project in the corner, and 7 and 15 were standing over by a small fire. My eyes instantly flew over all their faces until they fell onto the one I was looking for. 9 smiled as I grinned back at him. I ran over to him and embraced him. He tightly hugged me back.

"I never got the chance to tell you," he whispered into my ear. "I love you." And, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he pulled me into a kiss.

Once we'd broke apart, 7 and 15 walked over. 7 had one arm strung around 15's shoulders, and 15's arm strung around 7's waist. She seemed quite content. Actually, she looked calmer than I'd seen since before the Fabrication Machine awoke the second time.

"What happened after I… er, _died_?" I asked. "If I did."

"Oh, you did," 7 assured, chuckling a bit. "Believe me, that was exactly what we needed to realize how much we needed you."

"Um, a lot of stuff," 15 said. "Happened, I mean."

"We tried to disconnect the Extra Piece, but it was jammed in there," 7 continued. "So, we gave it Thesso. Eventually, it absorbed him, then it sort of… er, exploded. Again."

"But this time, we were sure to get rid of every remain possible," 9 informed. "So we won't have any other... incidents."

"After, we brought you back the same way we put that pure soul into Thesso," 13 told me. She'd stood up from her project and had walked over to me. "I thought that it hadn't worked, but… I guess it did."

9 now continued, "We still have two of the other souls to make bodies for. We have 12's soul in the Extra Piece, and 14's is in the First Talisman. I'm not sure if that one will work, but it's worth a shot. "

I looked at them. "Thanks for bringing me back."

11 walked over and grabbed my hand. "Did ya hear? 12's gonna get to come back!"

"You're right," I smiled at her. "I did hear. And you'll have a little friend again." I could actually see the sadness, hidden behind her eyes. I guessed that it was from Thesso's death, but 11 seemed to be doing a pretty good job of coping.

"Actually, he won't be back as 12," 26 stated, walking over to us. "He's been dead for too long. All the parts that made him 12 have faded. Of course, his personality will be similar, but he won't _be_ 12. I'm glad that 10 still has all her memories. I was afraid that we were too late for her."

"What happened to Thesso?" I asked, finally working up the courage. Even though I suspected he was gone, I guessed that they could put his soul in another body, too.

Every looked very uncomfortable. "Uh… his piece of soul was destroyed when the Fabrication Machine exploded. We were lucky that the Extra Piece was launched out, but it was too late for Thesso," 7 answered.

"Oh," I quietly said. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," 26 said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Somehow, I always knew that I wasn't going to keep him."

"So, what's that project you two are working on?" I asked her, looking over her shoulder.

"It's just a little… something," 13 replied. As I looked over their shoulder, I saw what they were doing. A small body, even smaller than 11, lay on the table. "We're sewing up a body for 12's soul," 13 explained. "To save time, we're making it a child. A young child, like a baby."

"A stitchpup!" 11 happily interjected. "Just like us, but he's a pup!"

13 continued, "Later, we might be able to upgrade him to make him seem older."

"All he needs is a mother," 26 slowly said, a sly smile creeping onto her face. "And 7 already told us that she's not interested."

"I'll do it," I said in a heartbeat. I suddenly looked to 9. I opened my mouth to continue, but he cut me off.

"10," he interrupted. "I've... had an awful lot of time to think this over, and... I was wondering..." He awkwardly looked to the ground. "Will you... will you be my wife?"

Again, I knew the answer instantly. "Yes, yes, yes!" I happily cried, flinging myself towards him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and jumped up a little. He hugged me back tightly. Once I'd released him, he produced from his chest a small pearl, half welded to a silver wrist band. I slipped it on happily before hugging him again.

7 smiled at me. "I just want to say that... I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you earlier," she awkwardly sighed. "I think that I might've been a little jealous, because for the longest time, I was sure that there was only 9 and me. But then, he found you and... I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I told her. "I've already forgiven you."

"So... can we be friends?" she asked.

"What ever you like," I nodded, and she smiled at me.

She looked over my shoulder at 9. "Permission to hug?" she asked.

9 chuckled a bit. "Knock yourself out."

7 warmly hugged me, and I welcomed in a new friendship. At that moment, I thought about how much had happened in the last fifteen minutes. I'd come back from the dead, adopted a child, agreed to get married to 9 and started fresh with 7. Oh, yeah. Things were finally going my way.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Woo! Ok, this is the _official_ end to 10, but I'm going to write a short epilogue to come after. Y'know, just to check up on how things are, like, a month later? Oh! And I have a favor to ask. I'm meaning to put a little romantic song in the epilogue for 9 and 10, but I'm not sure which song to do. If you know any songs that just make you think of them every time you hear it, please leave a review with the name and band. Thanks!  
><strong>


	17. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

11 ran outside as many puffy, white flakes began to fall from the sky. "Wow!" she exclaimed happily, not believing her eyes. "10! You have to see this!"

I walked outside as the flakes began to mound up. Even though it was quite cold out, no one minded. 11 ran out, her eyes as wide as ever, beaming at the flakes. I stayed close to the Library, where we'd moved back in after my resurrection. I chuckled as 11 fell back in a pile of flakes and vanished beneath the white surface. 9 walked up from behind and fondly wrapped his arm around me. I leaned up against him.

7 and 15 wandered out as well, hand in hand, enjoying the flakes from the sky. "They called this snow," 7 said. "The twins showed me once."

I smiled and looked down at the small blue bundle in my arms. A pulled back his hood to reveal a tiny face, serene and sleeping. I kissed him on the forehead as 9 placed his arm around my shoulders.

11 ran over. "Can 19 come and play with me?" she asked.

"Uh… he's a little small to play right now," I said. "Plus, he's sleeping."

26 and 13 walked over. "How's he coming?" 26 asked.

"Very good," I told them. "He's seeming more mature already. I'm sure it won't be long until he's ready for an upgrade."

"You're making a great mother, 10," 13 told me. "You should be proud."

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you, 9," I told him fondly.

He took 19 from my arms. "I'll always be there for you, 10." He gently caressed 19, brushing one of his stray black hairs back into the small tuft on the top of his head. He then passed 19 to 13, who gently held him.

Now that we were at the Library, we were living with the twins again. They ran back to the black and white instrument, which they learned was called a '_piano_', and began to play.

9 walked over to me and held out a hand. "May I have this dance?"

I took it. "Of course."

7 and 15 joined us on the dance floor as the twins and 11 jammed on the piano. 13 and 26 sang along, making up most of their songs as they went. After a few minutes of dancing, then 11 brought out a sheet of paper. A few weeks before, I'd been having some fun on the piano, and I wrote a little song. Now, 11 gave the twins the sheet music and the teens the lyrics. As they played along, 7, 15, 9 and I all danced.

The two teens listened to the twins playing the intro, then joined in with their singing part:

_Thought that I was going crazy_

_Just having one of those days, yeah._

_Didn't know what to do._

_Then, there was you._

_And everything went from wrong to right,_

_And the stars came out to fill up the night,_

_The music you were playing really blew my mind._

_It was love at first sight_

'_Cause baby, when I heard you_

_For the first time I knew_

_We were meant to be as one…_

9 grinned at me. "Did you write that for me?"

I nodded. "It's true. Since that first moment when I saw you, way back at the Library, something in me stirred. And every time I look at you, our hold your hand, or just know that you're there, I get that same feeling."

"And now, now that the Fabrication Machine's exploded, and all the Cat Beasts are dead–" he looked over at Skittles. "–or tamed, we can have the world to ourselves."

Looking out at the snowflakes, I leaned up against 9. "You really think that we're safe now?"

He shrugged. "Probably not, but as long as you're here, we can defeat anything out there. This world is for our child to grow up in. We need to protect him now."

"I know."

"Do you feel alright being a mother?" he continued.

"I'll always take care of him," I surely said. "Just like Mum took care of me."

"Do you think that there are more humans out there?" he asked. "Survivors of the war, like your Mum?"

"I'm sure of it," I answered, then pulled myself closer to 9. "But, like you said, this world is ours for the taking."

"It's what we make of it," he smiled.

I looked up at him. "I love you, 9." I sighed as he wrapped his arms around me. "I'll love you forever."

_The End_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's it, folks! Finished! I had a wonderful time writing it, and I'd like to thank everyone who's came along on this magical and enchanting journey. And a huge thanks to all my reviewers, Moonphantom9, MissRandomGal, TheBlackSwanPrincess, and Vivi the Vixen. You guys made it a pleasure to write! **

**The song in this chapter was _Love at First Sight, _by Kylie Minogue. I'm sorry, I just love to put music in my stories!  
><strong>

** Before I go, I have one last question. Which story should I write next? I already have plots prepared for:**

**•A story about 7 and 9, where 7 learns that she's dying and has a week to live**

**•A story about 6, where he meets another OC of mine, 0**

**•A sequel to this one, focusing on 10's upbringing of her children and the dangers still in the world. _(I'm sorry, I've become so attached to 10, I just can't bear to let her go! In many ways, she is me, and I am partly dying to write another story about her.)_  
><strong>

**It's your choice; I'd excited to write all of them, I just want to know which one to write. So, leave a comment.  
><strong>

**This is Barn Owl Girl, signing off.  
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